Electric driven hydraulic fracking operation

ABSTRACT

Certain embodiments of the present application relate to a variable frequency drive (VFD) cabin for a pump configuration including a mobile trailer on which the VFD cabin is to be mounted. The VFD cabin generally includes a medium-voltage VFD and a ventilation system. In certain embodiments, the ventilation system is configured to generate an overpressure condition within the cabin to discourage the entry of dust and debris into the cabin. In certain embodiments, one or more components of the medium-voltage VFD are coupled to the floor of the cabin via a vibration damping system. In certain embodiments, the VFD cabin may be directly coupled to a chassis of the mobile trailer without an intervening suspension being provided between the VFD cabin and the chassis.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation application of, and claims thepriority benefit of, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/239,877, whichwas filed on Apr. 26, 2021, and which is a continuation application ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/790,897, which was filed on Feb. 14,2020 and is now U.S. Pat. No. 10,988,998, and which claims the benefitof U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/805,521, which was filedon Feb. 14, 2019. The contents of those applications are incorporated byreference herein in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to electrically-drivenhydraulic fracking systems, and more specifically but not exclusivelyrelates to a systems, subsystems, and methods for suchelectrically-driven hydraulic fracking systems.

BACKGROUND

Conventional hydraulic fracking systems are diesel-powered in thatseveral different diesel engines supply the power to the hydraulicpumps, as well as several types of auxiliary systems that assist thehydraulic pumps to execute the fracking, such as hydraulic coolers andlubrication pumps. Conventional diesel-powered hydraulic frackingsystems require a diesel engine and a transmission to be connected to ahydraulic pump to drive the hydraulic pump. However, typically severalhydraulic pumps are required at a single fracking site to extract thefluid from the fracking well. Thus, each of the several hydraulic pumpspositioned at a particular fracking site requires a dedicated dieselengine and dedicated transmission to adequately drive the correspondinghydraulic pump, thereby requiring several diesel engines andtransmissions to also be positioned at the fracking site in addition tothe several hydraulic pumps.

Typically, the diesel engines limit the horsepower (HP) at which thehydraulic pumps may operate, thereby requiring an increased quantity ofhydraulic pumps to attain the required HP necessary to extract the fluidfrom the fracking well. The increase in hydraulic pumps also results inan increase in the number of diesel engines and transmissions requiredat the fracking site, as each hydraulic pump requires a correspondingdiesel engine and transmission. As the diesel engines, transmissions,and hydraulic pumps for a single fracking site increase, so doesquantity of trailers required to transport and position configurationsat the fracking site.

The numerous diesel engines, transmissions, and hydraulic pumps requiredat a fracking site can significantly drive up the cost of the frackingoperation. Each of the numerous trailers required to transport andposition these configurations require commercial driver's license (CDL)drivers to operate, as well as increased manpower to rig the increasedassets positioned at the fracking site. The amount of diesel fuelrequired to power the numerous diesel engines to drive the numeroushydraulic pumps required to extract the fluid from the fracking wellalso significantly drives up the cost of the fracking operation.Further, parasitic losses typically occur as the diesel engines drivethe hydraulic pumps as well as drive the auxiliary systems. Suchparasitic losses actually decrease the amount of HP that the hydraulicpumps have available for operation, thereby significantly decreasing theefficiency of hydraulic pumps. In doing so, the duration of the frackingoperation is extended, resulting in significant increases in the cost ofthe fracking operation. The diesel engines also significantly increasethe noise levels of the fracking operation. For these reasons amongothers, there remains a need for further improvements in thistechnological field.

SUMMARY

Certain embodiments of the present application relate to a variablefrequency drive (VFD) cabin for a pump configuration including a mobiletrailer on which the VFD cabin is to be mounted. The VFD cabin generallyincludes a medium-voltage VFD and a ventilation system. In certainembodiments, the ventilation system is configured to generate anoverpressure condition within the cabin to discourage the entry of dustand debris into the cabin. In certain embodiments, one or morecomponents of the medium-voltage VFD are coupled to the floor of thecabin via a vibration damping system. In certain embodiments, the VFDcabin may be directly coupled to a chassis of the mobile trailer withoutan intervening suspension being provided between the VFD cabin and thechassis. Further embodiments, forms, features, and aspects of thepresent application shall become apparent from the description andfigures provided herewith.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a hydraulic fracking operationaccording to certain embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of the fracking operationillustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 illustrates a single-pump pump configuration according to certainembodiments.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are partially-exploded assembly views of a VFD cabinaccording to certain embodiments.

FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram of a pump configuration includingthe VFD cabin illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a transformer assembly according tocertain embodiments.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a power cell assembly according tocertain embodiments.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a power stack according to certainembodiments.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the power cell assembly illustrated inFIG. 8 with a power cell being extracted along a pair of slide rails.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of the cabin illustrated in FIGS. 4 and5, and schematically illustrates an airflow stream that is generated byoperation of a ventilation system.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a junction panel according to certainembodiments.

FIG. 13 is a partially exploded assembly view of a vibration dampingcoupler according to certain embodiments.

FIG. 14 is a cutaway view of the vibration damping coupler in use.

FIG. 15 is a schematic flow diagram of a process according to certainembodiments.

FIG. 16 is a schematic flow diagram of a process according to certainembodiments.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a pump configuration according tocertain embodiments.

FIG. 18 is a partially exploded assembly view of a VFD cabin accordingto certain embodiments.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a portion of the pump configurationillustrated in FIG. 17.

FIG. 20 is a perspective view of a transformer assembly according tocertain embodiments.

FIGS. 21 and 22 are perspective views of a power cell assembly accordingto certain embodiments.

FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram of a fracking system according to certainembodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following Detailed Description refers to the accompanying drawingsto illustrate exemplary embodiments consistent with the presentdisclosure. References in the Detailed Description to “one exemplaryembodiment,” an “exemplary embodiment,” an “example embodiment,” etc.,indicate the exemplary embodiment described may include a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic, but every exemplary embodimentmay not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring tothe same exemplary embodiment. Further, when a particular feature,structure, or characteristic may be described in connection with anexemplary embodiment, it is within the knowledge of those skilled in theart(s) to effect such feature, structure, or characteristic inconnection with other exemplary embodiments whether or not explicitlydescribed.

The exemplary embodiments described herein are provided for illustrativepurposes, and are not limiting. Other exemplary embodiments arepossible, and modifications may be made to the exemplary embodimentswithin the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, theDetailed Description is not meant to limit the present disclosure.Rather, the scope of the present disclosure is defined only inaccordance with the following claims and their equivalents.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware,firmware, software, or any combination thereof. Embodiments of thepresent disclosure may also be implemented as instructions applied by amachine-readable medium, which may be read and executed by one or moreprocessors. A machine-readable medium may include any mechanism forstoring or transmitting information in a form readable by a machine(e.g., a computing device). For example, a machine-readable medium mayinclude read only memory (“ROM”), random access memory (“RAM”), magneticdisk storage media, optical storage media, flash memory devices,electrical optical, acoustical or other forms of propagated signals(e.g., carrier waves, infrared signals, digital signals, etc.), andothers. Further firmware, software routines, and instructions may bedescribed herein as performing certain actions. However, it should beappreciated that such descriptions are merely for convenience and thatsuch actions in fact result from computing devices, processors,controllers, or other devices executing the firmware, software,routines, instructions, etc.

The following Detailed Description of the exemplary embodiments will sofully reveal the general nature of the present disclosure that otherscan, by applying knowledge of those skilled in the relevant art(s),readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such exemplaryembodiments, without undue experimentation, without departing from thespirit and scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, such adaptationsand modifications are intended to be within the meaning and plurality ofequivalents of the exemplary embodiments based upon the teaching andguidance presented herein. It is to be understood that the phraseologyor terminology herein for the purpose of description and not oflimitation, such that the terminology or phraseology of the presentspecification is to be interpreted by those skilled in the relevantart(s) in light of the teachings herein.

As used herein, ranges and quantities may be expressed as “about” aparticular value or range. The term “about” includes values that arewithin 10% of the value provided, and also includes the value provided.For example, “about 50%” means “between 45% and 55%.” As anotherexample, “between about 30 and about 40” means “a lower limit between 27and 33 and an upper limit between 36 and 44.”

As used herein, the term “single” may be used to indicate that thedescribed component lacks a corresponding counterpart, or that exactlyone of the component is being described. For example, a “single-shaftelectric motor” is an electric motor that includes exactly one outputshaft. Similarly, components that are described as being mounted to a“single trailer” are mounted to the same trailer, and are notdistributed across multiple trailers.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, illustrated therein is a hydraulicfracking operation 100 in which hydraulic pumps may pump a frackingmedia into a fracking well 109 to execute a fracking operation in orderto extract a fluid from the fracking well 109. The illustrated operation100 includes a power generation system 110, a power distribution system120 connected with the power generation system 110, a plurality of pumpconfigurations 130 receiving power from the power distribution system120, and a fracking system 140 connected with the plurality of pumpconfigurations 130. The power distribution system 120 may be incommunication with a control system 180, for example via a network 108,and may further supply electric power to one or more auxiliary systems190. As described herein, during operation, the power generation system110 generates electric power that is supplied to the power distributionsystem 120, the power distribution system 120 distributes electric powerto the pump configurations 130, the pump configurations 130 utilize thedistributed electric power to continuously pump a fracking media to thefracking system 140, and the fracking system 140 utilizes the frackingmedia in a fracking operation in which the fracking system 140 extractsfluid from the fracking well 109. While certain details regarding theoperation 100 are provided herein, further details regarding thehydraulic fracking operation 100 can be found in U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/790,538, filed on Feb. 13, 2020, the contents of which areincorporated by reference in their entirety.

The power generation system 110 is configured to generate electric powerthat can be directed to the power distribution system 120. The powergeneration system 110 may be a mobile power generation system, such asone installed to a trailer 111 that can be transported to the frackingsite. In certain forms, the power generation system 110 may include oneor more power sources (e.g., gas turbine engines 112, 114) configured togenerate electric power having a wattage in the megawatt (MW) range atan initial voltage level in the medium-voltage range. When generated bythe power generation system 110, the initial voltage level mayalternatively be referred to as the power generation voltage level. Incertain embodiments, the power generation system 110 may be omitted fromthe fracking operation 100. For example, the power distribution system120 and/or the pump configurations 130 may receive electric powerdirectly from a substation of a power grid. Further details regardingthe power generation system 110 are provided herein.

The power generation system 110 may generate electric power at a powergeneration voltage level in which the power generation voltage level isthe voltage level that the power generation system is capable ofgenerating the electric power. For example, when the power sources ofthe power generation system 110 include a quantity of gas turbineengines, the power generation system 110 may generate the electric powerat the power generation voltage level of 13.8 kV, which is a typicalvoltage level for electric power generated by gas turbine engines. Inanother example, when the power sources of the power generation systeminclude an electric power plant, the power generation system 110 maygenerate the electric power at the power generation voltage level of12.47 kV, which is a typical voltage level for electric power generatedby an electric power plant.

In another example, the power generation system 110 may generateelectric power that is already at a VFD voltage level to power thesingle-shaft electric motor as discussed in detail below. In such anexample, the power generation system 110 may generate the electric powerthat is already at the VFD voltage level, such as a VFD voltage level of4160V. In another example, the power generation system 110 may generatethe electric power at the power generation voltage level at a range of4160V to 15 kV. In another example, the power generation system 110 maygenerate electric power at the power generation voltage level of up to38 kV. The power generation system 110 may generate the electric powerat any power generation voltage level that is provided by the powersources included in the power generation system 110 that will beapparent to those skilled in the relevant art(s) without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the disclosure. The power generation system 110may then provide the electric power at the power generation voltagelevel to the power distribution trailer 120 via one or moremedium-voltage cables.

The power distribution system 120 is configured to receive electricpower at an initial medium-voltage voltage level (e.g., from the powergeneration system 110 and/or the power grid), and to distribute theelectric power to the pump configurations 130 and/or the auxiliarysystem(s) 190. The power distribution system 120 may be a mobile powerdistribution system, such as one installed to a trailer 121 that can betransported to the fracking site. The power distribution system 120 maytransmit electric power at a medium-voltage voltage level to each pumpconfiguration 130 via medium-voltage power lines 101, and may furthertransmit electric power at a medium-voltage voltage level to one or moreauxiliary systems 190. The power distribution system 120 mayadditionally transmit electric power at a low-voltage voltage level toeach pump configuration 130 and/or the auxiliary system(s) vialow-voltage power lines 102. The power distribution system 120 may be incommunication with the pump configurations 130 via communication lines103 and/or via wireless communication devices. Further details regardingthe power distribution system 120 are provided herein. Additionaldetails regarding an exemplary form of the power distribution system areprovided in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/790,538, filed on Feb.13, 2020, the contents of which are incorporated by reference in theirentirety.

Each pump configuration 130 is configured to receive electric power fromthe power distribution system 120 and/or another source, and to pump afracking media to the fracking system 140 using the received electricpower. Each pump configuration 130 generally includes a medium-voltagevariable frequency drive (VFD) 132 that converts electric power at theinitial medium-voltage voltage level to electric power at a VFD voltagelevel, a single, single-shaft electric motor 134 that generates motivepower in response to being supplied with the electric power at the VFDvoltage level, and a single hydraulic pump 136 connected to the singleshaft 135 of the single, single-shaft electric motor 138 to continuouslypump a fracking media to the fracking system 140. As described herein,the medium-voltage VFD 132 may be housed in a VFD cabin, which mayfurther include a ventilation system that operates using low-voltagepower to cool the medium-voltage VFD 132. Further details regarding thepump configuration 130 and the VFD cabin are provided herein. Additionaldetails regarding an exemplary form of the medium-voltage VFD 132 areprovided in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/790,581, filed on Feb.13, 2020, the contents of which are incorporated by reference in theirentirety.

The illustrated fracking system 140 generally includes a mobile trailer141 on which a fracking configuration may be positioned. The frackingconfiguration may be the fracking equipment 142 that executes the actualfracking to extract the fluid from the fracking well 109. For example,the fracking trailer 141 may include the fracking equipment 142 thatimplements the missile in addition to the well heads that are affixed tothe fracking well 109 and distribute the fracking media into thefracking well 109 to prepare the well 109 for later extraction of thefluid from the well 109. The fluid extracted from the fracking well 109may include a liquid, such as crude oil or the like, or a gas, such asnatural gas, hydrocarbons, or the like that is extracted from thefracking well 109 that is then stored and/or distributed. In certainembodiments, a portion of the extracted fluid may be utilized to fuelpower sources (e.g., gas turbine engines 112, 114) of the powergeneration system 110.

The power that is generated to provide power to each of the numerouscomponents included in the hydraulic fracking operation 100 may beprovided as a power generation system 110, which may be provided on apower generation trailer 111. Often times, the fracking site is a remotesite where it has been determined that sufficient fluid has been locatedunderground to justify temporarily establishing the hydraulic frackingoperation 100 for a period of time to drill the fracking well 109 andextract the fluid from the fracking well 109. Such fracking sites areoftentimes positioned in remote locations such as uninhabited areas inmountainous regions with limited road access to the fracking sites. As aresult, the hydraulic fracking operation 100 is oftentimes a mobileoperation where each of the components is positioned on a correspondingtrailer that is then hauled to the fracking site via semi-trucks and/ortractors. For example, the fracking system 140 includes a trailer 141including fracking equipment 142 that is hauled in via a semi-truck andis positioned closest to the fracking well 109 as compared to the othercomponents in order to execute the fracking operation.

In certain embodiments, the power generation system 110 may also be amobile operation such that the power generation equipment may bepositioned on a power generation trailer 111 and transported to thefracking site via a semi-truck and/or tractor. The power generationsystem 110 may be positioned at the fracking site such that each and anycomponent/subsystem of the hydraulic fracking operation 100 may bepowered by the power generation system 110. In doing so, the powerrequired for the hydraulic fracking operation 100 may be consolidated tothe power generation system 110 such that the power generation system110 provides the necessary power required for the hydraulic frackingoperation 100. Thus, the power generation system 110 may be positionedat the fracking site such that each component/subsystem of the hydraulicfracking operation 100 may have power distributed from the powergeneration system 110 to each respective component of the hydraulicfracking operation 100.

The power generation system 110 may include power generation systemsthat generate electric power such that the hydraulic fracking operation100 is powered via electric power generated by the power generationsystem 110 and does not require subsidiary power generation systems suchas subsidiary power generation systems that include diesel engines. Indoing so, the power generation system 110 may provide electric power toeach component of the hydraulic fracking operation 100 such that thehydraulic fracking operation 100 is solely powered by electric powergenerated by the power generation system 110. The power generationsystem 110 may consolidate the electric power that is generated for theelectric driven hydraulic fracking system 100 such that the quantity andsize of power sources included in the power generation system 110 isdecreased.

The power generation system 110 may include power generation systemsthat generate electric power such that the hydraulic fracking operation100 is powered only via electric power generated by power generationsystem 110. In such forms, the fracking operation 100 may notnecessarily require subsidiary power generation systems, such assubsidiary power generation systems that include diesel engines. Thepower generation system 110 may provide electric power to each componentof the hydraulic fracking operation 100 such that the hydraulic frackingoperation 100 is solely powered by electric power generated by the powergeneration system 110.

In certain embodiments, the power generation system 110 may include atleast one power source (e.g., a gas turbine engine and/or generator),and the power source may operate using one or more fuels (e.g., unleadedgasoline) and generate electric power that is then provided to eachcomponent of the hydraulic fracking operation 100. In certainembodiments, the at least one power source may operate using fluidextracted from the fracking well 109 during the course of the frackingoperation. In certain embodiments, the power generation system 110 mayinclude electric power that is provided directly by an electric utilitycompany such that mobile power sources are not required to provideelectric power to the hydraulic fracking operation 100. In certainembodiments, the power generation system 110 may include a combinationof electric power generated by at least one power source and electricpower generated by the electric utility company to power each of thecomponents of the hydraulic fracking operation 100. The power generationsystem 110 may include any type of power source to generate electricpower to power each component of the hydraulic fracking operation 100that will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art(s) withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

The power generation system 110 may generate electric power at aninitial power level in the megawatt (MW) range and an initial voltagelevel in the medium-voltage range. In certain embodiments, the initialpower level is about 24 megawatts (MW) or greater. In certainembodiments, the initial voltage level is about 10 kilovolts (kV) toabout 15 kV. While certain embodiments and examples provided herein aredescribed with reference to an initial voltage level of about 13.8 kV,or about 13.8 kV or greater, it is to be understood that in otherembodiments, the initial voltage level may be a different voltage levelin the medium-voltage range. In certain embodiments, the initial voltagelevel may be between 1 kV and 16 kV. In certain embodiments, the initialvoltage level may be between about 6 kV and about 15 kV. In certainembodiments, the initial voltage level may be in the range of 12.5kV±about 20%, 12.5 kV±about 15%, or 12.5 kV±about 10%. In certainembodiments, the initial voltage level may be in a range of about 11.8kV to about 14.5 kV. In certain embodiments, the initial voltage levelmay be in the standard 15 kV voltage class, the most common forms ofwhich are 12.47 kV, 13.2 kV, 13.8 kV, and 14.4 kV. Accordingly, theexamples provided herein are not to be construed as limiting the scopeof the disclosed subject matter to initial voltages of 13.8 kV.

The power generation system 110 may generate electric power at a wattagelevel such that there is sufficient electric power to adequately powereach of the components of the hydraulic fracking operation 100 whilehaving power sources (e.g., gas turbine engines 112, 114) in quantityand in size that enable the power sources to be transported to thefracking site and set up remotely via a trailer 111. In doing so, thepower generation system 110 may include power sources that generatesufficient electric power to adequately power each of the components ofthe hydraulic fracking operation 100 while not requiring a largequantity of power sources and/or power sources of significant size thatmay significantly increase the difficulty and cost to transport thepower sources to the fracking site.

In order to provide sufficient electric power to adequately power eachof the components of the hydraulic fracking operation 100 while notrequiring large quantities of power sources and/or power sources ofsignificant size, the power generation system 110 may include powersources (e.g., gas turbine engines 112, 114) that generate electricpower at a wattage level of about 5 MW, about 12 MW, about 16 MW, about20 to about 25 MW, about 30 MW and/or any other wattage level that maynot require large quantities of power sources and/or power sources ofsignificant size that will be apparent to those skilled in the relevantart(s) without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

In certain embodiments, the power generation system 110 may include afirst power source in the form of a first gas turbine engine 112 thatgenerates a first electric power at a first power level in range ofabout 12 MW to about 16 MW and a second power source in the form of asecond gas turbine engine 114 that generates a second electric power ata second power level in a range of about 12 MW to about 16 MW. The firstgas turbine engine 112 and the second gas turbine engine 114 maygenerate the electric power at the initial voltage level, which electricpower may be provided to the power distribution system 120. In certainembodiments, it may be desirable to provide sufficient electric power toadequately power each component of the hydraulic fracking operation 100as well as limit the quantity of gas turbine engines and the size of thegas turbine engines such that the gas turbine engines may be positionedon a single trailer 111 and transported to the fracking site. In orderto do so, the power generation system 110 may include two electric gasturbine engines 112, 114 that generate electric power at power levels inthe range of about 12 MW to about 16 MW such that the total electricpower that is available to power the components of the hydraulicfracking operation 100 is in the range of about 24 MW to about 32 MW. Inanother example, the power generation system 110 may be the electricutility power plant that is local to the location of the frackingoperation such that the power distribution trailer 120 may receive theelectric power at the power level of 24 MW and the power generationvoltage level of 12.47 kV directly from the electric utility powerplant.

Further, the power generation system 110 including plural power sources(e.g., gas turbine engines 112, 114) to generate the electric powerprovides redundancy in the power generation for the hydraulic frackingoperation 100. In doing so, the power generation system 110 provides afault redundancy to the electric driven hydraulic fracking system inthat the first power source continues to provide the first power levelto the power distribution system 120 in the event that the second powersource suffers a fault condition. Similarly, the second power sourcecontinues to provide the second power level to the power distributionsystem 120 in the event that the first power source suffers the faultcondition. The power generation system 110 may then maintain one or morehydraulic pumps 136 a-136 n to continuously operate in the continuousduty cycle without interruption in continuously pumping the frackingmedia due to the system level redundancy provided by the first powersource and the second power source.

By incorporating two power sources (e.g., two gas turbine engines 112,114), redundancy may be provided in that the electric power is providedto the components of the hydraulic fracking operation 100 such that thefracking media is continuously pumped into the fracking well 109 despiteone of the power sources suffering a short circuit condition. In doingso, the incident energy may be reduced thereby reducing the shortcircuit availability of the power generation system 110. However, if oneof the power sources 112, 114 were to fail due to a short circuitcondition, the remaining power source engine may continue to providesufficient power to ensure the fracking media is continuously pumpedinto the fracking well 109, albeit at a reduced level. A failure tocontinuously pump the fracking media into the well may result in thesand, which is a major component of the fracking media coming out of thesuspension and creating a plug at the bottom of the well, whichtypically results in a significant expense to remove the sand in thewell so that the fracking can continue. The power generation system 110may include any combination of power sources and/or single power sourceat any wattage level to sufficiently generate electric power toadequately power each of the components of the hydraulic frackingoperation 100 that will be apparent to those skilled in the relevantart(s) without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Asnoted above, it is also contemplated that the power generation system110 may be omitted, for example in embodiments in which the powerdistribution system 120 receives the initial electric power from thepower grid.

The power generation system 110 may generate the electric power at aninitial voltage level that is in the medium voltage range of 1.0 kV to72.0 kV. In certain embodiments, the power generation system 110 maygenerate the electric power at an initial voltage level of about 5 kV toabout 15 kV. In certain embodiments, the initial voltage may be providedin the range of 12.5 kV±about 10%. In certain embodiments, the initialvoltage may be provided in the range of about 10 kV to about 15 kV. Incertain embodiments, the initial voltage may be provided as about 13.8kV or greater. The generation of the electric power at the voltage levelin the medium voltage range enables medium-voltage cables to be used toconnect the power generation system 110 to the power distribution system120 to propagate the electric power from the power generation system 110to the power distribution system 120, as well as enabling the use ofmedium-voltage cables to propagate the electric voltage level to any ofthe components powered by the electric power in the medium voltagerange. The use of medium-voltage cables rather than the use ofhigh-voltage cables decreases the size of the cable required, in thatmedium-voltage cables are smaller than high-voltage cables. This mayreduce the cost of the cables required for the hydraulic frackingoperation 100.

Further, the consolidation of power sources to decrease the quantity ofpower sources required to power the components of the hydraulic frackingoperation 100 also reduces the quantity of medium-voltage cables thatare required to connect each of the power sources to the powerdistribution system 120, thereby further reducing the cost of the cablesrequired for the hydraulic fracking operation 100. Further, inembodiments in which the power generation system 110 generates theelectric power at the initial voltage level of about 13.8 kV, and thecapability of the power distribution system 120 to distribute suchpower, enables the hydraulic fracking operation 100 to be easilyintegrated with many electric utility grids the world over, since themost common voltage for distribution from the substations of theelectric utility grids is about 13.8 kV. As a result, the electric gridmay be easily substituted for the power generation system 110 inreplacement of the power sources (e.g., the gas turbine engines 112,114).

The power distribution system 120 may distribute the electric power atthe power level generated by the power generation system 110 to eachpump configuration 130 a-130 n, where n is an integer greater than orequal to one and corresponds to the number of pump configurations 130.As noted above, the power generation system 110 may include at least onepower source to generate the electric power, and may be supplemented orreplaced by the electric utility grid. In doing so, a medium-voltagepower cable may be connected from the power generation system 110 to thepower distribution system 120. For example, the power generation system110 may include two gas turbine engines 112, 114 with each of the gasturbine engines generating electric power at the power level of about 12MW to about 16 MW at the initial voltage level (e.g., an initial voltagelevel of about 13.8 kV). In such an example, two to five medium-voltagepower cables may then connect the two gas turbine engines 112, 114 tothe power distribution system 120 such that the electric power maypropagate from the gas turbine engines 112, 114 to the powerdistribution system 120.

As noted above, the power distribution system 120 may distribute theelectric power to each of the pump configurations 130 a-130 n. Moreparticularly, the power distribution system 120 distributes the electricpower at the medium-voltage initial voltage level to each of themedium-voltage VFDs 132 a-132 n, each of which is positioned on acorresponding one of the pump trailers 131 a-131 n and included in thecorresponding pump configuration 130 a-130 n. As discussed in furtherdetail below, several different hydraulic pumps 136 a-136 n may berequired to continuously pump the fracking media into the fracking well109 to execute the fracking operation. In doing so, each of thehydraulic pumps 136 a-136 n may be driven by a corresponding VFD 132a-132 n also positioned on the corresponding pump trailer 131 a-131 n ofthe corresponding pump configuration 130 a-130 n. Each of themedium-voltage VFDs 132 a-132 n may then provide the appropriate powerto drive the corresponding single-shaft electric motors 134 a-134 n,each of which drives a corresponding one of the hydraulic pumps 136a-136 n to continuously pump the fracking media into the fracking well109 to execute the fracking operation to extract the fluid from thefracking well 109. Thus, the power distribution system 120 maydistribute the electric power generated by the power generation system110 to the several different VFDs 132 a-132 n positioned on each of thepump trailers 131 a-131 n. As described herein, the power distributionsystem 120 may further provide medium-voltage power to the auxiliarysystem(s) 190 and/or may provide low-voltage power to the pumpconfigurations 130 a-130 n and/or the auxiliary system(s) 190.

In an example, the power distribution system 120 is configured todistribute the electric power at the power level of about 24 MW orgreater generated by the at least one power source (e.g., the one ormore gas turbine engines 112, 114) from an initial voltage level ofabout 13.8 kV to the medium-voltage VFDs 132 a-132 n, each of which ispositioned on a corresponding pump trailer 131 a-131 n. In such anexample, the power generation system 110 includes two different gasturbine engines 112, 114 that each generate electric power at the powerlevel of about 12 MW to about 16 MW and at the initial voltage level ofabout 13.8 kV. Two to five different medium-voltage cables may thenpropagate the electric power generated by the two gas turbine engines112, 114 to the power distribution system 120. The power distributionsystem 120 may then combine the power levels of about 12 MW to about 16MW generated by each of the two gas turbine engines 112, 114 to generatea power level of about 24 MW to about 32 MW at the initial voltage levelof about 13.8 kV. The power distribution system 120 may then distributethe electric power at the initial voltage level of about 13.8 kV to eachof eight different VFDs 132 a-132 n via eight different medium-voltagecables 101. The power distribution system 120 may distribute the powergenerated by any quantity of gas turbine engines to any quantity of VFDsthat will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art(s) withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

In certain embodiments, the power distribution system 120 may include aplurality of switchgear, wherein each switchgear switches the electricpower generated by the power generation system 110 and received by thecorresponding medium-voltage cable to the medium-voltage cable 101 foreach of the corresponding medium-voltage VFDs 132 a-132 n. For example,the power distribution system 120 may include eight different switchgearfeeders to switch the electric power generated by the power source(e.g., the two gas turbine engines 112, 114) at the initialmedium-voltage voltage level to the eight different medium-voltagecables 101 for the eight medium-voltage VFDs 132 a-132 n to distributethe electric power at the initial medium-voltage voltage level to eachof the eight medium-voltage VFDs 132 a-132 n. Further details regardingan illustrative form of the power distribution system 120 are providedin the above-referenced U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/790,538.

In certain embodiments, the switchgears may include a solid stateinsulated switchgear (2SIS) or a gas insulated switchgear (GIS), such asthose manufactured by ABB or Schneider Electric. Such medium-voltageswitchgears may be sealed such that there is no exposure to contacts forthe medium-voltage electric power. Oftentimes the fracking sitegenerates an immense amount of dust and debris. Thus, removing anyenvironmental exposure to medium-voltage contacts included in the 2SISor GIS may decrease the maintenance required for the 2SIS or GIS.Further, the 2SIS and/or GIS may be permanently set to distribute theelectric power from each of the power sources (e.g., the gas turbineengines 112, 114) to each of the different VFDs 132 a-132 n with littlemaintenance. The power distribution system 120 may incorporate any typeof switchgear and/or switchgear configuration to adequately distributethe electric power from the power generation system 110 to each of thedifferent pump configurations 130 a-130 n that will be apparent to thoseskilled in the relevant art(s) without departing from the spirit andscope of the disclosure.

With additional reference to FIG. 3, illustrated therein is a single,single-pump configuration 130 that includes a medium-voltage VFD 132, asingle, single-shaft electric motor 134 and a single hydraulic pump 136,each of which is mounted on a single pump trailer 131. Also mounted tothe same trailer 131 is a VFD cabin 200 in which the medium-voltage VFD132 is housed. Further details regarding the illustrative VFD cabin 200are provided below with reference to FIGS. 4-14, and an exemplaryprocess for manufacturing the cabin 200 is provided below with referenceto FIG. 15.

The power distribution system 120 may distribute the electric power atthe initial voltage level generated by the power generation system 110to the medium-voltage VFD 132 that is positioned on the single pumptrailer 131 of the pump configuration 130. The medium-voltage VFD 132may then drive the single, single-shaft electric motor 134 and thesingle hydraulic pump 136 as well as control the operation of thesingle, single-shaft electric motor 134 and the single hydraulic pump136 as the single-shaft electric motor 134 continuously drives thesingle hydraulic pump 136 to cause the single hydraulic pump 136 tocontinuously pump the fracking media. In doing so, the VFD 132 mayconvert the electric power distributed by the power distribution system120 at the initial voltage level generated by the power generationsystem 110 to a VFD voltage level that is appropriate to drive thesingle-shaft electric motor 134.

Often times, the initial voltage level of the electric power distributedby the power distribution system 120 as generated by the powergeneration system 110 may be at a voltage level that is significantlyhigher than a voltage level that is appropriate to drive thesingle-shaft electric motor 134. Thus, the medium-voltage VFD 132 mayconvert the initial voltage level of the electric power as distributedby the power distribution system 120 to significantly lower the voltagelevel to the VFD voltage level that is appropriate to drive thesingle-shaft electric motor 134. In certain embodiments, themedium-voltage VFD 132 may convert the initial voltage level of theelectric power as distributed by the power distribution system 120 to aVFD voltage level of about 4160V or greater. In certain embodiments, themedium-voltage VFD 132 may convert the initial voltage level of theelectric power distributed by the power distribution system 120 to a VFDvoltage level that ranges from about 4160V to about 6600V. In certainembodiments, the VFD voltage level may be in a range of about 2 kV toabout 8 kV. Further details regarding an illustrative form of themedium-voltage VFD 132 are provided in the above-referenced U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/790,581.

In an example, the power generation system 110 generates the electricpower at an initial voltage level in a range of about 10 kV to about 15kV. The power distribution system 120 then distributes the electricpower at the initial voltage level in the range of about 10 kV to about15 kV to the medium-voltage VFD 132. However, the single-shaft electricmotor 134 operates at a voltage level of about 4160V in order to drivethe single hydraulic pump 136, and the voltage level of about 4160V forthe single-shaft electric motor 134 to operate is significantly lessthan the voltage level in the range of about 10 kV to about 15 kV of theelectric power that is distributed by the power distribution system 120to the medium-voltage VFD 132. The medium-voltage VFD 132 may thenconvert the electric power at the initial voltage level in the range ofabout 10 kV to about 15 kV to a VFD voltage level of about 4160V anddrive the single, single-shaft electric motor 134 that is positioned onthe single pump trailer 131 at the VFD voltage level of about 4160V tocontrol the operation of the single, single-shaft electric motor 134 andthe single hydraulic pump 136. The medium-voltage VFD 132 may convertany voltage level of the electric power distributed by the powerdistribution system 120 to any VFD voltage level that is appropriate todrive the single-shaft electric motor that will be apparent to thoseskilled in the relevant art(s) without departing from the spirit andscope of the disclosure.

The medium-voltage VFD 132 may also control the operation of thesingle-shaft electric motor 134 and the single hydraulic pump 136. Themedium-voltage VFD 132 may include a sophisticated control system ableto control in real-time the operation of the single-shaft electric motor134 and the single hydraulic pump 136 in order for the single-shaftelectric motor 134 and the single hydraulic pump 136 to adequatelyoperate to continuously pump the fracking media into the fracking well109. Although the single, single-shaft electric motor 134 and the singlehydraulic pump 136 may operate continuously to continuously pump thefracking media into the fracking well 109, such continuous operation maynot necessarily be continuously executed with the same parametersthroughout the entirety of the continuous operation. The parametersaccording to which the single-shaft electric motor 134 and the singlehydraulic pump 136 continuously operate may actually vary based on thecurrent state of the fracking operation 100. The medium-voltage VFD 132may automatically adjust the parameters according to which thesingle-shaft electric motor 134 and the single hydraulic pump 136continuously operate to adequately respond to the current state of thefracking operation 100.

As noted above, the medium-voltage VFD 132 may convert the electricpower at the initial voltage level distributed by the power distributionsystem 120 to the VFD voltage level that is appropriate to drive thesingle-shaft electric motor 134. The single-shaft electric motor 134 maybe a single-shaft electric motor in that the single shaft 135 of theelectric motor is coupled to the single hydraulic pump 136 such that thesingle, single-shaft electric motor 134 drives the single hydraulic pump136. The single, single-shaft electric motor 134 may continuously drivethe single hydraulic pump 136 at an operating frequency to enable thesingle hydraulic pump 136 to continuously pump the fracking media intothe fracking well 109. The single, single-shaft electric motor 134 mayoperate at the VFD voltage level and at the operating frequency in orderto rotate at a RPM level that is sufficient to continuously drive thesingle hydraulic pump 136 at the maximum horsepower (HP) level that thesingle hydraulic pump 136 is rated to pump. In certain embodiments, thesingle-shaft electric motor 134 may operate at a VFD voltage level of atleast 4160V or at a voltage level of about 4160V. In certainembodiments, the single-shaft electric motor 134 may operate at a VFDvoltage level in a range of 4160V to 6600V or in a range of about 4160Vto about 6600V. In certain embodiments, the single-shaft electric motor134 may operate at other VFD voltages. The single-shaft electric motor134 may operate any VFD voltage level that is adequate to continuouslydrive the single hydraulic pump 136 that will be apparent to thoseskilled in the relevant art(s) without departing from the spirit andscope of the disclosure.

In an example, the power distribution system 120 may distribute theelectric power to the medium-voltage VFD 132 at an initial voltage levelof about 13.8 kV. The medium-voltage VFD 132 may then convert theelectric power at the voltage level of about 13.8 kV to the VFD voltagelevel of about 4160V to adequately drive the single, single-shaftelectric motor 134. The single-shaft electric motor 134 may operate atan operating frequency of 0 Hz to 100 Hz and, in response to provisionof the VFD voltage level of about 4160V to about 6900V to adequatelydrive the single-shaft electric motor at the operating frequency of 0 Hzto 100 Hz, the single, single-shaft electric motor 134 may then rotateat an RPM level of about 750 RPM or greater. The single-shaft electricmotor 134 may rotate at an RPM level of at least about 750 RPM based onthe VFD voltage level of about 4160V to about 6900V as provided by themedium-voltage VFD 132, and to drive the corresponding single hydraulicpump 136 with the rotation at the RPM level of at least about 750 RPM.

In certain embodiments, the single-shaft electric motor 134 may rotateat an RPM level of at least 5 RPM to 750 RPM, or an RPM level of about750 RPM or greater. In certain embodiments, the motor 134 may rotate atan RPM level of about 500 RPM or greater. In certain embodiments, thesingle-shaft electric motor 134 may rotate at an RPM level of about 750RPM to about 1500 RPM. The single-shaft electric motor 134 may operateat any RPM level to continuously drive the single hydraulic pump 136that will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art(s) withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. The single-shaftelectric motor 134 may operate at any operating frequency tocontinuously drive the single hydraulic pump 136 that will be apparentto those skilled in the relevant art(s) without departing from thespirit and scope of the disclosure.

In certain embodiments, the single-shaft electric motor 134 may be aninduction motor that rotates at the RPM level based on the input gearbox ratio of the single hydraulic pump 136. Based on the operatingfrequency of the single-shaft electric motor 134 and the VFD voltagelevel applied to the single-shaft electric motor 134, the single-shaftelectric motor 134 may then rotate at the RPM level, and outputs torqueat an output torque level that corresponds to the operating frequencyand VFD voltage level. However, the VFD voltage level applied to thesingle-shaft electric motor 134 may be determined based on the inputgear box ratio of the single hydraulic pump 136 as the single-shaftelectric motor 134 typically cannot rotate at the RPM level that exceedsthe input gear box ratio of the single hydraulic pump 136. Thesingle-shaft electric motor 134 may be an induction motor, a tractionmotor, a permanent magnet motor and/or any other motor that continuouslydrives the single hydraulic pump 136 that will be apparent to thoseskilled in the relevant art(s) without departing from the spirit andscope of the disclosure.

As noted above, the single-shaft electric motor 134 may be coupled tothe single hydraulic pump 136 and drive the single hydraulic pump 136such that the single hydraulic pump 136 continuously pumps the frackingmedia into the fracking well 109 to execute the fracking operation toextract the fluid from the fracking well 109. The single hydraulic pump136 may operate on a continuous duty cycle such that the singlehydraulic pump 136 continuously pumps the fracking media into thefracking well 109. Rather than operating on an intermittent duty cyclethat causes conventional hydraulic pumps to temporarily stall in thepumping of the fracking media into the fracking well 109, the singlehydraulic pump 136 in operating on a continuous duty cycle maycontinuously pump the fracking media into the fracking well 109 withoutany intermittent stalling in the pumping. In doing so, the efficiency inthe fracking operation to extract the fluid from the fracking well 109may significantly increase as any intermittent stalling in pumping thefracking media into the fracking well 109 may result in setbacks in thefracking operation, and may increase the risk of sand coming out ofsuspension and/or other debris entering into the fracking well 109.Thus, the single hydraulic pump 136 in operating on the continuous dutycycle may mitigate the risks of any setbacks in the fracking operationdue to the continuous pumping of the fracking media into the frackingwell 109.

The single hydraulic pump 136 may continuously pump the fracking mediainto the fracking well 109 at the HP level at which the single hydraulicpump 136 is rated. The increase in the HP level that the singlehydraulic pump 136 may continuously pump the fracking media into thefracking well 109 may result in an increase in the efficiency in thefracking operation. For example, the single hydraulic pump 136 maycontinuously pump the fracking media into the fracking well 109 at theHP level of about 5000 HP or greater as driven by the single-shaft motor134 at the RPM level of about 750 RPM or greater. In certainembodiments, the single hydraulic pump 136 operates on a continuous dutycycle to continuously pump the fracking media at the HP level of about5000 HP or greater. In certain embodiments, the single hydraulic pump136 may operate at continuous duty with a HP level of about 5000 HP. Thehydraulic pump 136 may, for example, be provided as a Weir QEM5000 pump,or other manufacturers of similar rating. However, the single hydraulicpump 136 may any type of hydraulic pump that operates on a continuousduty cycle and at any HP level that adequately continuously pumps thepumping fracking media into the fracking well 109 to execute thefracking operation to extract the fluid from the fracking well 109 thatwill be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art(s) withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

In certain embodiments, the individual pump configuration 130 discussedin detail above may be incorporated into the hydraulic frackingoperation 100 depicted in FIG. 1 as each of the pump configurations 130a-130 n. Each of the several pump configurations 130 a-130 n may beincorporated into the hydraulic fracking operation 100 to increase theoverall HP level that is applied to the fracking equipment 142positioned on the fracking trailer 141 by the hydraulic pumps 136 a-136n positioned on the pump trailers 131 a-131 n. In doing so, the overallHP level that is applied to the fracking equipment 142 in order tocontinuously pump the fracking media into the fracking well 109 may besignificantly increased, as the HP level that is applied to the frackingequipment 142 is scaled with each pump configuration 130 that is addedto the hydraulic fracking operation 100.

The positioning of each medium-voltage VFD 132 a-132 n, eachsingle-shaft electric motor 134 a-134 n, and each single hydraulic pump136 a-136 n on a corresponding pump trailer 131 a-131 n enables thepower distribution system 120 to distribute the electric power at theinitial voltage level to each medium-voltage VFD 132 a-132 n from asingle power distribution source (e.g., the power distribution system120) rather than having a dedicated power distribution source for eachpump configuration 130 a-130 n. In doing so, the electric power at theinitial voltage level may be distributed to each VFD 132 a-132 n, andeach VFD 132 a-132 n may individually convert the initial voltage levelto the appropriate VFD voltage for the corresponding single-shaftelectric motor 134 a-134 n and the single hydraulic pump 136 a-136 nthat is positioned on the corresponding pump trailer 131 a-131 n. Themedium-voltage VFD 132 may also control the corresponding single-shaftelectric motor 134 and hydraulic pump 136 positioned on thecorresponding pump trailer 131.

In isolating the medium-voltage VFD 132 to convert the electric power atthe initial voltage level to the VFD voltage level appropriate for thesingle, single-shaft electric motor 134 and the single hydraulic pump136, the capabilities of the single-pump pump configuration 130 may thenbe easily scaled by replicating the single-pump pump configuration 130into several different single-pump pump configurations 130 a-130 n. Inscaling the single-pump pump configuration 130 into several differentsingle-pump pump configurations 130 a-130 n, the parameters for themedium-voltage VFD 132, the single-shaft electric motor 134, and thesingle hydraulic pump 136 may be replicated to generate the severaldifferent pump configurations 130 a-130 n, and in doing so scaling thefracking operation 100 to a desired size (e.g., a desired overall HPlevel).

In certain embodiments, the medium-voltage VFD 132 may convert theelectric power at the initial voltage level (as distributed by the powerdistribution system 120) to the VFD voltage level appropriate to drivethe corresponding single-shaft electric motor 134, such that eachsingle-shaft electric motor 134 rotates at the RPM level sufficient tocontinuously drive the single hydraulic pump 136 at the rated HP levelof the hydraulic pump 136. Rather than simply having a single hydraulicpump 136 as depicted in FIG. 2 and discussed in detail above tocontinuously pump at the HP level of the single hydraulic pump 136,several different hydraulic pumps 136 a-136 n and single-shaft electricmotors 134 a-134 n (as positioned on different pump trailers 131 a-131n) may be scaled together to scale the overall HP level that is providedto the fracking equipment 142 positioned on the fracking trailer 141. Indoing so, the overall HP level that is provided to the frackingequipment 142 may be easily scaled by incorporating each of theindividual pump trailers 131 a-131 n each with single hydraulic pumps136 a-136 n operating at the corresponding pump HP levels to scale theHP levels of the single hydraulic pumps 136 a-136 n to generate theoverall HP level for the hydraulic fracking operation 100.

For example, the single hydraulic pump 136 of each corresponding pumpconfiguration 130 a-130 n may be operating on a continuous duty cycle ata HP level about 5000 HP or greater. A total of eight pumpconfigurations 130 a-130 n, each with a single hydraulic pump 136 a-136n positioned on the corresponding pump trailer 131 a-131 n, results in atotal of eight hydraulic pumps 136 a-136 n operating on a continuousduty cycle at a HP level of about 5000 HP or greater (where n is equalto eight). In doing so, each of the eight hydraulic fluid pumps 136a-136 n continuously pumps the fracking media into the fracking well 109at a HP level of about 40,000 HP or greater, and do so continuously witheach of the eight hydraulic fluid pumps 136 a-136 n operating on acontinuous duty cycle. Thus, the fracking media may be continuouslypumped into the fracking well 109 at a HP level of about 40,000 HP orgreater to execute the fracking operation to extract the fluid from thefracking well 109. The hydraulic pumps 136 a-136 n positioned on thecorresponding pump trailers 131 a-131 n may operate on a continuous dutyat any HP level, and the quantity of pump configurations 130 a-130 n maybe scaled to any quantity obtain a desired overall HP level for thehydraulic fracking operation 100 that will be apparent to those skilledin the relevant art(s) without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe present disclosure.

Conventional hydraulic fracking operations that incorporate dieselengines as the power generation source rather than electric gas turbineengines struggle to deliver an increased performance and efficiency withregard to executing the fracking operation as compared to the electricdriven hydraulic fracking operation 100. Typically, conventionalhydraulic pumps that are associated with the conventional diesel enginesare not rated for continuous duty, resulting in the conventionalhydraulic pumps having intermittent interruptions in the pumping of thefracking media into the fracking well 109. Such intermittentinterruptions may decrease the efficiency in executing the frackingoperation in that the quality in the fracking operation may decrease asthe risk of sand and/or other debris being mixed into fracking well 109increases. Rather than having a continuous duty single hydraulic pump136 that continuously pumps the fracking media into the fracking well109 without interruption, the conventional hydraulic pump suffers theintermittent interruption due to not being continuous duty.

Further, conventional hydraulic fracking operations that incorporatediesel engines require dedicated diesel engines to drive eachconventional hydraulic pump, rather than being able to consolidate thepower generation to a power generation system 110 that consolidates thequantity and size of the gas turbine engines to generate the electricpower. Such an increase in diesel engines significantly increases thecost of the fracking operation in that significantly more trailers arerequired to transport the diesel engines. This results in significantlymore semi-trucks and/or trailers required to transport the dieselengines, and a corresponding increase in the number of CDL driversrequired. As the overall asset count increases at the fracking site, theoverall cost increases due to the increased amount of manpower required,as well as an increase in the amount of rigging that is required to rigeach of the diesel engines to the conventional hydraulic pumps. Bycontrast, the electric driven hydraulic fracking operation 100 maydecrease the asset count by consolidating the power generation to thegas turbine engines 112, 114 of decreased size and quantity that areconsolidated into the power generation system 110. The powerdistribution system 120 then further decreases the cost by consolidatingthe medium-voltage cabling that is required to power each of the assets(e.g., the pump configurations 130 and/or the auxiliary system(s) 190),thereby decreasing the amount of rigging required.

It should also be noted that conventional hydraulic fracking operationsthat incorporate diesel engines suffer significant parasitic lossesthroughout the different components included in the fracking operation.Diesel engines that generate power that satisfies the HP level at whichthe conventional fluid pumps are rated oftentimes do not reach that HPlevel due to parasitic losses throughout the conventional hydraulicfracking configuration. For example, the diesel engines may sufferparasitic losses when driving the hydraulic coolers and the lubricationpumps that are associated with the conventional hydraulic pump, inaddition to the parasitic losses suffered from driving the conventionalhydraulic pump itself. By way of example, the diesel engine may bedriving the conventional hydraulic pump that is rated at 2500 HP at anominal HP level of 2500 HP, but due to parasitic losses, the dieselengine is actually only driving the conventional hydraulic pump at 85%of the HP level of 2500 HP. However, the electric driven hydraulicfracking operation 100 may have the hydraulic pumps 136 a-136 n that arerated at the HP level of 5000 HP and, due to the lack of parasiticlosses in providing electric power to the individual hydraulic pumps 136a-136 n, each individual hydraulic pump 136 a-136 n actuallycontinuously pumps the fracking media into the fracking well 109 atabout 5000 HP. Thus, the asset count required for the electric drivenhydraulic fracking operation 100 may be significantly reduced ascompared to the hydraulic fracking operations that incorporate dieselengines due to the lack of parasitic losses for the electric drivenhydraulic fracking operation 100.

Conventional hydraulic fracking operations that incorporate dieselengines may also consume significantly more fuel than theelectrically-driven hydraulic fracking operation 100. The cost andquantity of diesel fuel consumed by the diesel engines may besignificantly higher than the cost and quantity of unleaded fuelconsumed by the gas turbine engines that are consolidated in size andquantity in the power generation system 110. For example, the estimatedfuel consumption for fifteen conventional 2500 HP hydraulic pumps thatare driven by diesel may be $48,600 per day at $3.00 per gallon fordiesel fuel resulting in a diesel fuel cost of $1,477,400 per month.However, the electric driven hydraulic fracking operation 100 maygenerate sufficient energy to drive fifteen single hydraulic pumps 136a-136 n operating at the HP level of 5000 HP resulting in a fuel cost of$27,000 per day and $820,800 per month. This represents a fuel savingsof $650,000 per month from the conventional hydraulic frackingoperations that incorporate diesel engines, while generatingsignificantly more HP with the 5000 HP single hydraulic pumps 136 a-136n as compared to the 2500 HP conventional hydraulic pumps for the dieselengine approach. Moreover, in certain embodiments, the gas turbineengines 112, 114 may be fueled by fluid extracted from the fracking well109, which may further decrease the cost of fuel required to generatepower via the mobile power generation system 110.

Conventional hydraulic fracking operations that incorporate dieselengines may also generate significantly more noise than the electricdriven hydraulic fracking operation 100. The numerous diesel enginesrequired in the conventional hydraulic fracking operations generateincreased noise levels in that the diesel engines generate noise levelsat 110 dBa. However, the gas turbine engines 112, 114 incorporated intothe power generation system 110 of the electric driven hydraulicfracking operation 100 may generate noise levels that are less than 85dBa. Oftentimes, the fracking site has noise regulations in that thenoise levels of the fracking operation cannot exceed 85 dBa. In suchsituations, an increased cost is associated with the conventionalhydraulic fracking operations that incorporate diesel engines inattempts to lower the noise levels generated by the diesel engines tobelow 85 dBa. The electric driven fracking operation 100 may notnecessarily have the increased cost, as the noise levels of the gasturbine engines may already fall below 85 dBa.

Certain conventional hydraulic fracking systems attempt to increase theoverall HP level of the fracking site by having dual-shaft motors drivetwo conventional hydraulic pumps simultaneously. In doing so, theoverall HP level of the fracking site is essentially doubled by doublingthe quantity of conventional hydraulic pumps by having conventionaldual-shaft motors drive the two conventional hydraulic pumpssimultaneously. However, the two conventional hydraulic pumps are bothconnected to a single conventional dual-shaft motor such that the singleconventional dual-shaft motor drives the two hydraulic pumpssimultaneously and also in synchronization. In driving the twoconventional hydraulic pumps in synchronization, significantly increasedharmonics are generated from the synchronized operation of the twoconventional hydraulic pumps. Those harmonics resonate into the frackingoperation and down the line into the fracking well 109, and may causewear and pulsation of the high-pressure iron in the fracking well 109,thereby negatively affecting the fracking operation. In contrast to theillustrated operation 100, in which single-shaft electric motors 134a-134 n drive individual hydraulic pumps 136 a-136 n at the HP level of5000 HP that results in no harmonics, the conventional dual-shaft motorsdrive two conventional hydraulic pumps at the HP level of 2500 HP toattain the HP level of 5000 HP, but does so with no way to offset thesynchronized operation to eliminate the harmonics from resonating intothe fracking well 109.

Further, the increase in the quantity of conventional hydraulic pumpsfurther increases the asset count, which increases the first costs aswell as the cost of operation. Rather than having eight individualhydraulic pumps 136 a-136 n rated at the HP level of 5000 HP to obtain atotal HP level of about 40,000 HP for the fracking site, theconventional hydraulic fracking systems require sixteen conventionalhydraulic pumps rated at the HP level of 2500 HP to obtain the total HPlevel of 40,000 HP. In doing so, a significant cost is associated withthe increased quantity of conventional hydraulic pumps. Further,conventional hydraulic pumps that fail to incorporate a medium-voltageVFD 132 a-132 n, a single-shaft electric motor 134 a-134 n, and a singlehydraulic pump 136 a-136 n onto a single pump trailer 131 furtherincrease the cost by increasing additional trailers and rigging requiredto set up the numerous different components at the fracking site. Bycontrast, the electric driven hydraulic fracking operation 100 mayincorporate the power distribution system 120 to consolidate the powergenerated by the power generation system 110 and then limit thedistribution and the cabling required to distribute the electric powerto each of the single-pump pump configurations 130 a-130 n.

In certain embodiments, one or more auxiliary systems 190 may bepositioned at the fracking site, and may also be electrically driven bythe electric power generated by power generation system 110. Theauxiliary systems 190 may assist each of the hydraulic pumps 136 a-136 nas well as the fracking equipment 142 as each of the hydraulic pumps 136a-136 n operate to execute the fracking operation to extract the fluidfrom the fracking well 109. In doing so, the auxiliary systems 190 maybe systems in addition to the fracking equipment 142 and the hydraulicpumps 136 a-136 n that are required to execute the fracking operation orotherwise desired by the party or parties performing and/or controllingthe fracking operation.

For example, the auxiliary system 190 may include a hydration systemthat provides adequate hydration to the fracking media as the hydraulicpumps 136 a-136 n continuously pump the fracking media into the frackingwell 109. As another example, an auxiliary system 190 may include anelectric blender that blends the fracking media that is then pumped bythe hydraulic pumps. Such an electric blender may operate using powerdistributed to the auxiliary system 190 by the power distribution system120, for example power at a voltage level of about 4160V. Auxiliarysystems 190 may include but are not limited to hydration systems,chemical additive systems, blending systems, mixing systems and/or anyother type of system that is required or desired at the fracking sitethat may be electrically driven by the electric power generated by thepower generation system 110 that will be apparent to those skilled inthe relevant art(s) without departing from the spirit and scope of thedisclosure.

The electric power generated by the power generation system 110 may thusbe distributed by the power distribution system 120 such that theelectric power generated by the power generation system 110 may also beincorporated to power the auxiliary systems 190. In doing so, theelectric power generated by the power generation system 110 may beincorporated to not only drive the pump configurations 130 a-130 n viathe medium-voltage VFDs 132 a-132 n positioned on each pump trailer 131a-131 n but to also power the auxiliary systems 190 and/or auxiliarysystems of the pump configurations 130 a-130 n. Thus, the hydraulicfracking operation 100 may be completely electrically-driven in thateach of the required systems positioned on the fracking site may bepowered by the electric power generated by the electric power that isconsolidated to the power generation system 110.

As noted above, each medium-voltage VFD 132 may include a sophisticatedcontrol system that may control in real-time the operation of thecorresponding single-shaft electric motors 134 and the individualhydraulic pumps 136 in order for the single-shaft electric motors 134and the individual hydraulic pumps 136 to adequately operate tocontinuously pump the fracking media into the fracking well 109.However, the control system 180 that may be positioned at the frackingsite and/or remote from the fracking site may also control themedium-voltage VFDs 132 a-132 n, and in doing so control the real-timeoperation of the single-shaft electric motors 134 a-134 n and the singlehydraulic pumps 136 a-136 n in order for the single-shaft electricmotors 134 a-134 n and the single hydraulic pumps 136 a-136 n toadequately operate to continuously pump the fracking media into thefracking well 109. In doing so, the control system 180 may intervene tocontrol the medium-voltage VFDs 132 a-132 n when necessary. The controlsystem 180 may additionally or alternatively control the fracking system140 and/or the auxiliary systems 190 in order to ensure that thefracking operation is adequately executed to extract the fluid from thefracking well 109.

Communication between the control system 180 on the one hand and themedium-voltage VFDs 132 a-132 n, the fracking equipment 142, and/or theauxiliary systems 190 on the other hand may occur via wireless and/orwired connection communication. Wireless communication may occur via oneor more networks 108 such as the internet. In some embodiments, thenetwork 108 may include one or more wide area networks (WAN) or localarea networks (LAN). The network(s) 108 may utilize one or more networktechnologies such as Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, virtualprivate network (VPN), remote VPN access, a variant of IEEE 802.11standard such as Wi-Fi, and the like. Communication over the network(s)108 may take place using one or more network communication protocolsincluding reliable streaming protocols such as transmission controlprotocol (TCP), Ethernet, Modbus, CanBus, EtherCAT, ProfiNET, and/or anyother type of network communication protocol that will be apparent fromthose skilled in the relevant art(s) without departing from the spiritand scope of the present disclosure. Wired connection communication mayoccur but is not limited to a fiber optic connection, a coaxial cableconnection, a copper cable connection, and/or any other type of directwired connection that will be apparent from those skilled in therelevant art(s) without departing from the spirit and scope of thepresent disclosure. These examples are illustrative and not intended tolimit the scope of the present disclosure.

With additional reference to FIGS. 4-6, the VFD cabin 200 generallyincludes a cabin housing 202 including a floor 210 and a cap 220, andthe medium-voltage VFD 132 generally includes a transformer assembly 230and a power cell assembly 240. The cabin housing 202 further houses aventilation system 250 operable to circulate air to cool themedium-voltage VFD 132 during operation, and a junction panel 260connected with the medium-voltage VFD 132 and the ventilation system250.

The VFD cabin 200 may be connected with the power distribution system120 via one or more lines, and in the illustrated embodiment isconnected with the power distribution system 120 via a medium-voltagepower line 101 and a low-voltage power line 102. As used herein, theterm “low voltage” refers to voltages of about 1.0 kV or less. Incertain embodiments, the VFD cabin 200 may further be connected with thepower distribution system 120 via a communication line 103 such that thepower distribution system 120 is able to control operation of the VFDcabin 200 (e.g., under control of the control system 180), and therebyto control operation of the hydraulic pump 136. In certain embodiments,the VFD cabin 200 may be in wireless communication with the powerdistribution system 120 such that the power distribution system 120 isoperable to wirelessly communicate with the VFD cabin 200. As describedherein, the lines 101-103 may connect to the cabin 200 via the junctionpanel 260, further details of which are provided below with reference toFIG. 12.

The floor 210 supports various internal components of the VFD cabin 200,and in the illustrated embodiment is configured for direct coupling withthe pump trailer 131, for example via bolts and/or welding. This is incontrast to certain existing VFD cabins, in which a cabin cap is loweredonto a cabin floor to form a cabin housing, and the cabin housing isindirectly coupled to the trailer frame via a shock-absorbingsuspension, such as airbags and/or springs. In such prior art cabins,the shock-absorbing suspension was required in order to isolate therelatively delicate electronic components of the VFD from the vibrationsthat are inherent to road travel, and which can be particularly severewhen traveling to a remote fracking site. As described herein, however,the need for such a suspension between the cabin 200 and the trailer 131may be obviated by the vibration-damping components provided within thecabin 200.

The cap 220 includes a plurality of sidewalls 221 and a roof 222, and isconfigured for mounting to the floor 210 to enclose the cabin 200. Incertain forms, the cap 220 may include a skeleton or base structure onwhich a skin or external structure is mounted. While other materials arecontemplated, in the illustrated form, the skeleton is formed of steel,the skin for the sidewalls 221 is formed of aluminum, and the skin forthe roof 222 is formed composite. In certain embodiments, the cap 220may be provided as a preformed cap that is lowered onto the floor 210after installation of the transformer assembly 230 and/or one or moreother internal components of the cabin 220. In other forms, the cap 220may be built up from the floor 210 after installation of one or moreinternal components of the cabin 200, such as the transformer assembly230.

One or more of the sidewalls 221 may have formed therein a maintenancehatch covered by a maintenance door 224 and/or a low-voltage VFD closet229 covered by a low-voltage VFD closet door 225. The maintenance hatchand maintenance door 224 permit maintenance of certain internalcomponents of the cabin 200 without requiring the maintenance personnelto enter the cabin 200. Similarly, the low-voltage VFD closet 229 andVFD closet door 225 permit maintenance of one or more low-voltage VFDs257 from outside the cabin 200, thereby obviating the need formaintenance personnel to enter the higher-voltage environment of thecabin interior. In certain forms, the components of the cabin 200 mostlikely to require service are accessible via one or more maintenancedoors 224 and/or the low-voltage VFD closet door 225. Accordingly, thecabin 200 may lack an entry door sized and shaped to permit entry intothe cabin interior, thereby preventing personnel from entering themedium-voltage environment within the cabin 200. In such embodiments,should one or more components inaccessible via the doors 224, 225require maintenance or replacement, the cap 220 may need to be removedin order to permit such maintenance or replacement, and the cap 220 maybe removably coupled to the floor 210 to facilitate such removal. Inother embodiments, the cap 220 may include an entry door in order topermit entry into the cabin interior.

One of the sidewalls 221 includes an air intake port 227, which in theillustration of FIG. 4 is covered by a sliding door 226 that covers afiltration unit 251 of the ventilation system at least during transportof the cabin 200. As will be appreciated, the sliding door 226 may beopened prior to operation of the ventilation system 250 to expose theintake port 227 to permit intake air to flow into the filtration unit251 under the force of one or more intake blowers 252. In certainembodiments, the sliding door 226 may be equipped with a prop switchthat detects whether the door 226 is propped, and operation of theventilation system 250 may be controlled based upon information receivedfrom the prop switch. One of the sidewalls 221 includes one or more airoutlet ports 228 that permit expulsion of air from the cabin 200. Whileother locations are contemplated, in the illustrated form, the airintake port 227 and the air outlet ports 228 are respectively positionedon the fore and aft end walls of the cabin cap 220.

With additional reference to FIG. 7, the transformer assembly 230generally includes a transformer 232, a transformer assembly frame 234to which the transformer 232 is mounted, and a vibration dampingassembly 236 through which the frame 234 is mounted to the cabin floor210. The transformer 232 is connected between the medium-voltage line101 and the power cell assembly 240, and is configured to transform themedium-voltage power received via the medium-voltage line 101 to atransformer voltage that is suitable for use by the power cell assembly240, such as about 750V. The vibration damping assembly 236 includes aplurality of vibration damping couplers 237, each of which aids incoupling the frame 234 to the floor 210 while reducing vibrationstransmitted from the cabin floor 210 to the frame 234. An example formof a vibration damping coupler 300 that may be used as the vibrationdamping couplers 237 is described below with reference to FIGS. 13 and14.

With additional reference to FIGS. 8-10, the power cell assembly 240generally includes a plurality of power cells 242, a power cell assemblyframe 244 to which the plurality of power cells 242 are mounted, avibration damping assembly 246 through which the frame 244 is mounted tothe cabin floor 210, and a plurality of temperature sensors 249. Thepower cells 242 are arranged in stacks 243, each stack 243 includingthree power cells 242 corresponding to the three phases of three-phasealternating current (AC). Each stack 243 is configured to step up thethree-phase AC power received from the transformer 232 at thetransformer voltage level to a higher voltage such that the power outputfrom the medium-voltage VFD 132 is in a form suitable to drive thecorresponding single-shaft electric motor 134. For example, each stack243 may step up the voltage by about 750V. In certain embodiments, eachpower cell 242 accepts a voltage of approximately 750 VAC and produces asingle phase AC voltage, and these voltages are combined in series pereach phase to create a three-phase output suitable to control theelectric motor 134. Further details regarding the electrical operationof the medium-voltage VFD 132 can be found in the above-referenced U.S.patent application Ser. No. 16/790,581.

In the illustrated embodiment, each power cell 242 is mounted to theframe 244 via one or more slide rails 245, which facilitate removal andreplacement of the individual power cells 242. Additionally, each powercell 242 has a dedicated temperature sensor 249 and a dedicated coolingfan 258, with the cooling fans 258 comprising a portion of theventilation system 250. As with the above-described vibration dampingassembly 236, the vibration damping assembly 246 includes a plurality ofvibration damping couplers 247, each of which aids in coupling the frame244 to the cabin floor 210 while reducing vibrations transmitted fromthe floor 210 to the frame 244. An example form of vibration dampingcoupler 300 that may be used as the vibration damping couplers 247 isdescribed below with reference to FIGS. 13 and 14.

The ventilation system 250 generally includes one or more intakefiltration units 251 positioned at the one or more intake ports 227, oneor more intake blowers 252 connected with the filtration unit(s) 251,one or more exhaust blowers 254 positioned at the exhaust port 228, anda ventilation control system 256 in communication with the intakeblower(s) 252 and the exhaust blower(s) 254. The ventilation system 250further includes the plurality of cooling fans 258, which may also be incommunication with the ventilation control system 256.

The filtration unit 251 comprises one or more filters that filter theair being drawn into the cabin 200 under the charging of the intakeblower(s) 252. In certain embodiments, one or more of the filtersprovided in the filtration unit 251 may be a hydrophobic filter. Whenthe sliding door 226 is open and the intake port 227 is exposed, the atleast one intake blower 252 is operable to draw air into the cabin 200via the intake port 227 and the filtration unit 251 under the control ofthe ventilation control system 256. The filtration unit(s) 251 may besealed to the intake blower(s) 252 to ensure that all air drawn into theintake blowers 252 first passes through the filtration unit(s) 251. Theat least one exhaust blower 254 is configured to blow air from the cabininterior through the exhaust port(s) 228 to cause the air to exit thecabin 200. In certain embodiments, the total cubic feet per minute (CFM)rating of the intake blower(s) 252 may be greater than the total CFMrating of the exhaust blower(s) 254. In certain embodiments, an exhaustfilter 255 may be positioned at the exhaust port 228 to discourage theentry of contaminants (e.g., dust and debris) into the cabin 200 whenthe ventilation system 250 is idle.

In the illustrated form, the ventilation control system 256 includes oneor more low-voltage VFDs 257 by which the intake blower 252, the exhaustblower 254, and/or the cooling fans 258 are controlled. In certainforms, the one or more low-voltage VFDs 257 control operation of theblowers 252, 254 and/or the cooling fans 258 using power supplied by thepower distribution system 120 via the low-voltage power line 102. Incertain embodiments, the control system 256 includes multiplelow-voltage VFDs 257, each of which is dedicated to a corresponding oneof the blowers 252, 254. By way of example, the ventilation system 250may include a pair of intake blowers 252 and a pair of exhaust blowers254, and the ventilation control system 256 may include four low-voltageVFDs 257, each dedicated to controlling operation of a respective one ofthe blowers 252, 254. In such forms, the provision of multiplelow-voltage VFDs 257 enables the operating speed of the blowers 252, 254to be ramped up and ramped down as needed. This is in contrast tocertain conventional systems, in which intake and exhaust blowers areoperated solely as on/off blowers. Due to the fact that blowers cancontribute a significant amount of acoustic noise to a frackingoperation, the additional control afforded by providing each blower 252,254 with a dedicated low-voltage VFD 257 may enable the cabin 200 toproduce less noise when the full degree of cooling is not required.

The ventilation control system 256 may receive power via the low-voltageline 102, which may be connected with the ventilation control system 256via the junction panel 260. While other voltages are contemplated, incertain forms, the low-voltage line 102 may provide power to theventilation control system 256 at a low-voltage voltage level of about480V. In the illustrated form, the low-voltage VFDs 257 are positionedin a VFD closet 229 that is accessible via the VFD closet door 225 suchthat the low-voltage VFD 257 can be accessed from the exterior of thecabin 200 without requiring maintenance personnel to enter thehigher-voltage interior of the cabin 200.

As noted above, the sliding door 226 that covers the intake filtrationunit 251 during transport may be equipped with a prop switch thatdetects the open/closed position of the door 226. In certainembodiments, the ventilation control system 256 may control operation ofthe ventilation system 250 based upon information received from the propswitch (e.g., information indicating the open/closed position of thedoor 226). For example, the ventilation control system 256 may limitoperation of the intake blower(s) 252 to times at which the prop switchindicates that the door 226 is open. By way of illustration, it may bethe case that the door 226 has been closed in an attempt to warm up thefunctional components of the medium-voltage VFD 132, and the ventilationcontrol system 256 may cause the ventilation system 250 to remain idleduring such a warming procedure.

The ventilation system 250 also includes or is in communication with theplurality of temperature sensors 249, each of which may be dedicated toa corresponding one of the power cells 242 as noted above. In certainembodiments, the ventilation control system 256 may control operation ofthe cooling fans 258 based upon information received from thetemperature sensors 249. For example, in the event that a particulartemperature sensor 249 indicates that the temperature of thecorresponding power cell 242 has increased, the ventilation controlsystem 256 may cause the corresponding cooling fan 258 to increase inspeed. When the temperature sensor 249 indicates that the temperature ofthe corresponding power cell 242 has fallen, the ventilation controlsystem 256 may reduce the speed of the corresponding cooling fan 258. Incertain embodiments, each cooling fan 258 is rated to provide about 650CFM of airflow or more.

As noted above, one issue that frequently arises in the context offracking operations is the presence of dust and debris in the air.Should this dust and debris make its way into the VFD cabin 200, thepower cells 242 may become damaged or degraded. However, the VFD cabin200 includes certain features that may discourage such entry ofcontaminants into the cabin 200. As one example, the intake filtrationunit 251 serves to filter the air entering the cabin 200, such as whenthe intake blower 252 is operated to draw air into the cabin 200 via theintake port 227. The exhaust port(s) 228 may similarly be provided withfilter(s) 255 to discourage the entry of dust when the ventilationsystem 250 is idle. Additionally, the sliding door 226 serves to coverthe intake port 227 during transport and times of non-use, therebyprotecting the filtration unit 251 from the gusts and sustained windsthat may otherwise damage the filtration unit 251.

A further feature of the ventilation system 250 that may aid indiscouraging the entry of dust and debris is the creation of anoverpressure condition within the cabin 200. As used herein, the term“overpressure condition” indicates that the pressure within the cabin200 is greater than the pressure outside the cabin 200. As a result ofthis overpressure condition, any dust or debris that may otherwise makeits way through cracks or openings within the cabin housing 202 willinstead be blown away from the cabin interior. In certain forms, theoverpressure condition may be created by operating the intake blower(s)252 at a higher rate than the exhaust blower(s) 254 is/are operated. Byway of illustration, the intake blower(s) 252 may be controlled toprovide an intake airflow rate of about 14,000 CFM, while the exhaustblower(s) 254 may be operated to provide an exhaust airflow rate ofabout 12,000 CFM. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art,such a difference in intake flowrate and exhaust flowrate will generallycreate an overpressure condition within the enclosed cabin 200 todiscourage dust and debris from infiltrating into the cabin 200 throughany cracks or openings that may be present in the cabin housing 202. Asnoted above, the blowers 252, 254 may be controlled by dedicatedlow-voltage VFDs 257. In such forms, the ventilation control system 256may cause the low-voltage VFDs 257 to control the intake blower(s) 252and the exhaust blower(s) 254 such that the total intake CFM provided bythe one or more intake blowers 252 exceeds the total exhaust CFMprovided by the one or more exhaust blowers 254.

With additional reference to FIG. 11, operation of the ventilationsystem 250 results in the generation of an airstream 209 that generallytravels or flows from the intake port 227 to the exhaust port 228. Thetransformer assembly 230 and the power cell assembly 240 are positionedwithin this airstream 209 such that the airstream 209 cools thetransformer 232 and the power cells 242 as the relatively cooler airflows over the relatively warmer electrical components. Typically, thetransformer 232 will run at a higher temperature than the power cells242. In order to ensure that the power cells 242 receive relativelycooler air (i.e., air that has not been heated by the relatively hottransformer 232), the power cells 242 may be positioned in the airstream209 upstream of the transformer 232 and the transformer 232 may bepositioned in the airstream 209 downstream of the power cells 242.

In certain embodiments, the cabin 200 may include an internal wall 292in the vicinity of the transformer 232 with a gap 293 below the wall 292and/or openings 293 positioned at the lower end of the wall 292. Such awall 292 may serve to direct the airstream 209 downward after theairstream 209 exits the power cell assembly 240 such that the majorityof the airstream 209 enters the transformer 232 from the bottom of thetransformer 232. In such forms, the airstream 209 may flow upwardthrough the transformer 232 and exit via the top of the transformer 232,from which location the airstream 209 may be directed to the exhaustport 228 by the exhaust blower 254.

With additional reference to FIG. 12, the illustrated junction panel 260generally includes a medium-voltage connector 262, a low-voltageconnector 264, and a communication cable connector 266. Themedium-voltage connector 262 is configured for connection with themedium-voltage power line 101, and is connected with the medium-voltageVFD 132 such that the medium-voltage VFD 132 is operable to receivepower from the medium-voltage power line 101 via the junction panel 260.The low-voltage connector 264 is configured for connection with thelow-voltage power line 102, and is connected with the ventilationcontrol system 250 such that the ventilation control system 250 isoperable to receive power from the low-voltage power line 102 via thejunction panel 260. The low-voltage connector 264 may further beconnected with auxiliary systems of the electric motor 134 and/orauxiliary systems of the hydraulic pump 136 such that the auxiliarysystems are operable to receive power from the low-voltage power line102 via the junction panel 260. The communication cable connector 266 isconfigured for connection with the communication cable 103, and isconnected with the medium-voltage VFD 132 such that the medium-voltageVFD 132 is operable to receive electrical signals and/or commands viathe junction panel 260.

In certain embodiments, the medium-voltage connector 262 and thelow-voltage connector 264 may be of different sizes, different shapes,and/or different configurations such that the medium-voltage line 101cannot couple with the low-voltage connector 264 and the low-voltageline 102 cannot couple with the medium-voltage connector 262. In certainforms, the power distribution system 120 may include a plurality ofjunction panels along the lines of the junction panel 260, with eachjunction panel of the power distribution system 120 corresponding to arespective one of the pump configurations 130 a-130 n.

With additional reference to FIG. 13, illustrated therein is an exampleof a vibration damping coupler 300 that may be utilized in connectionwith certain embodiments. In certain embodiments, the vibration dampingcouplers 237 of the transformer assembly 230 may be provided along thelines of the vibration damping coupler 300. In certain embodiments, thevibration damping couplers 247 of the power cell assembly 240 may beprovided along the lines of the vibration damping coupler 300. Theillustrated vibration damping coupler 300 generally includes a vibrationdamper 310, a bolt 320, and a nut 330, and may further include one ormore washers 340.

The vibration damper 310 generally includes a first portion 312 and asecond portion 314 separable from the first portion 312, and an aperture318 extends through the first portion 312 and the second portion 314.The first portion 312 includes a shoulder 313 that faces the secondportion 314. The second portion 314 also includes a shoulder 315 thatfaces the first portion 312, and further includes a neck 316. Thevibration damper 310 is formed of a vibration-damping material that issofter or more pliant than the metal of the cabin floor 210 and theframes 234, 244, and is thereby operable to reduce the transmission ofvibrations between the cabin floor 210 and the frames 234, 244. Incertain embodiments, the vibration damper 310 may be formed of anelastic material, a rubber, a plastic, and/or another form of vibrationdamping material.

The bolt 320 is sized and shaped to extend through the vibration damper310 and the washers 340, and includes a threaded portion 322 configuredto engage internal threads 332 of the nut 330. In the illustrated form,a first washer 340 is positioned between a head 324 of the bolt 320 andthe outer face of the first portion 312, and a second washer 340 ispositioned between the nut 330 and the outer face of the second portion314.

With additional reference to FIG. 14, in certain embodiments, thevibration damping couplers 247 of the vibration damping assembly 246 ofthe power cell assembly 240 may be provided along the lines of thevibration damping coupler 300. By way of illustration, the first portion312 may be positioned between the power cell assembly frame 244 and afloor panel 212 of the cabin floor 210 such that the aperture 318 alignswith apertures in the first washer 340, the frame 244, and the floorpanel 212. Similarly, the second portion 314 may be positioned on anopposite lower side of the floor 210 (e.g., within a reinforcing channel214 of the cabin floor 210) such that the aperture 318 formed in thesecond portion 314 aligns with the aperture 318 formed in the firstportion 312. The bolt 320 may then be inserted through the alignedapertures and engaged with the nut 330. The nut 330 and bolt 320 maythen be tightened such that the first portion 312 is captured betweenthe frame 244 and the floor 210 while the second portion 314 is capturedbetween the nut 330 and the floor 210.

In the configuration illustrated in FIG. 14, the first portion 312 iscaptured between the frame 244 and the floor 210, and the second portion314 is captured between the nut 330 and the floor 210. As a result,neither the metal of the coupled nut-bolt combination nor the metal ofthe frame 244 directly contacts the metal of the floor 210, but isinstead isolated from the floor 210 by the material of the damper 310.The damper 310 is formed of a relatively soft material in comparison tothe relatively hard metal of the floor 210 and the frame 244, and thematerial of the damper 310 is selected to dampen vibrations that wouldotherwise be transmitted from the floor 210 to the frame 244. In certainembodiments, the damper 310 may be formed of an elastic material, suchas an elastomer or rubber. In certain embodiments, the damper 310 may beprovided as a spring.

In certain embodiments, the vibration damping couplers 237 of thevibration damping assembly 236 of the transformer assembly 230 may beprovided along the lines of the vibration damping coupler 300. Thoseskilled in the art will readily appreciate that in such forms, thevibration damping couplers 237/300 may be utilized to couple thetransformer assembly frame 234 to the cabin floor 210 in a manneranalogous to that described above with reference to the coupling of thepower cell assembly frame 242 to the floor 210 by the vibration dampingcouplers 247. In certain embodiments, the intake blowers 252 of theventilation system 250 may be mounted to the cabin floor 210 via one ormore additional vibration damping couplers 259, such as vibrationdamping couplers along the lines of the vibration damping coupler 300.

Oftentimes, the transformer assembly 230 will be significantly heavierthan the power cell assembly 240. As such, it may be the case that thetransformer assembly 230 and the power cell assembly 240 have differentvibrational characteristics and/or different support requirements. Inorder to accommodate these differences, the overall stiffness of thevibration damping assembly 236 of the transformer assembly 230 may begreater than the overall stiffness of the vibration damping assembly 246of the power cell assembly 240. Similarly, should the intake blowers 252be mounted to the cabin floor 210 via vibration damping couplers 259,the overall stiffness of the vibration damping couplers 259 coupling theblowers 252 to the cabin floor may be less than the overall stiffness ofthe vibration damping couplers 237 coupling the transformer assembly 230to the cabin floor 210.

As noted above, in certain embodiments, the VFD cabin 200 is mounteddirectly to the trailer 131 without an intervening suspension. Forexample, the VFD cabin 200 may be mounted to the trailer 131 via boltsand/or welding. This is in contrast to certain existing VFD cabins,which required the intervening suspension for reasons described above.In the current VFD cabin 200, however, the need for the interveningsuspension is reduced or eliminated due to the provision of thevibration damping couplers. In addition to reducing costs by obviatingthe need for the more-expensive suspension, the use of vibration dampingcouplers allows for each component or subassembly of the cabin 200 to bemounted to the cabin floor 210 via a vibration damping assembly havingvibration damping characteristics (e.g., stiffness) tailored to theneeds of the particular component or subassembly. For example, as notedabove, the transformer assembly 230 may be mounted to the cabin floor210 via a vibration damping assembly 236 having a first overallstiffness, the power cell assembly 240 may be mounted to the cabin floor210 via a vibration damping assembly 236 having a second overallstiffness, and the first overall stiffness may be greater than thesecond overall stiffness to account for the greater mass of thetransformer assembly 230 in comparison to the power cell assembly 240.

As noted above, the vibration damping assemblies described herein mayaid in isolating the operating components of the cabin 200 from thecabin floor 210 during times of transport, when the pump configuration130 is not operating to pump the fracking media. The vibration dampingassemblies 236, 246 may further aid in isolating the correspondingsubsystems from vibration of the cabin floor 210 during operation of thepump configuration 130, which may entail significant vibrations due tothe operation of the motor 134 and the pump 136. This damping ofvibrations can be a significant factor in reducing the flexing of themetal components of the medium-voltage VFD 132. In the medium-voltageenvironment within the cabin 200, such flexing can result in electricalarcing, which can result in short circuit conditions and/or damage tothe components of the cabin 200. Thus, the vibration damping assembliesmay aid in protecting the VFD 132 not only from mechanical shock damageduring transport, but also from electrical shock damage duringoperation.

With additional reference to FIG. 15, certain embodiments of the presentapplication relate to a process 400 for manufacturing a VFD cabin and/ora pump configuration including such a VFD cabin. Blocks illustrated forthe processes in the present application are understood to be examplesonly, and blocks may be combined or divided, and added or removed, aswell as re-ordered in whole or in part, unless explicitly stated to thecontrary. Additionally, while the blocks are illustrated in a relativelyserial fashion, it is to be understood that two or more of the blocksmay be performed concurrently or in parallel with one another. Moreover,while the process 400 will be described with specific reference to theabove-described VFD cabin 200 and pump configuration 130, it is to beappreciated that the process 400 may be performed to manufacture a VFDcabin and/or a pump configuration having additional or alternativefeatures. By way of illustration, although the process 400 is describedas being performed to manufacture the above-described VFD cabin 200 andpump configuration 130, the process 500 may additionally oralternatively be performed to manufacture the VFD cabin 700 and pumpconfiguration 630 described below with reference to FIGS. 17-22.

The process 400 generally includes a mounting procedure 410, anenclosing procedure 420, and an installation procedure 430. As describedherein, the mounting procedure 410 generally involves mounting aplurality of operational components to a cabin floor, the enclosingprocedure 420 generally involves installing a cabin cap to the cabinfloor to thereby enclose the cabin, and the installation procedure 430generally includes installing the cabin and/or additional components toa mobile trailer.

The process 400 may include a mounting procedure 410, which generallyinvolves mounting a plurality of operational components to a cabinfloor, such as the cabin floor 210. The illustrated mounting procedure410 includes block 412, which generally involves mounting a transformerto a cabin floor via a first vibration damping assembly. In certainembodiments, block 412 may involve mounting the transformer 232 to thecabin floor 210 via the vibration damping assembly 236. Given the massof the transformer 232, block 412 may, for example, involve lifting thetransformer 232 into position on the cabin floor 210 using a crane. Dueto the fact that the cap 220 is not yet installed, the crane will beable to lift the transformer 232 into position without having tonegotiate certain obstacles that would otherwise be present (e.g., aroof and/or sidewalls of the cabin). With the transformer 232 inposition, the frame 234 to which the transformer 232 is mounted may besecured to the cabin floor 210 via the vibration damping assembly 236.As noted above, the vibration damping assembly 236 may include aplurality of vibration damping couplers 237, such as the vibrationdamping couplers 300.

The illustrated mounting procedure 410 further includes block 414, whichgenerally involves mounting a power cell assembly to the cabin floor viaa second vibration damping assembly. In certain embodiments, block 414may involve mounting the plurality of power cells 242 to the cabin floor210 via the vibration damping assembly 246. In certain embodiments,block 414 may involve mounting the frame 244 to the floor 210 via thevibration damping assembly 246 prior to installing the power cells 242.The power cells 242 may, for example, be installed to the frame 244 viaslide rails 245 that facilitate installation and removal of individualpower cells 242 to the frame 244. As noted above, the vibration dampingassembly 246 may include a plurality of vibration damping couplers 247,such as the vibration damping couplers 300. Additionally, the overallstiffness of the first vibration damping assembly 236 coupling thetransformer 232 to the cabin floor 210 may be greater than the overallstiffness of the second vibration damping assembly 246 coupling thepower cells 242 to the cabin floor 210.

The illustrated mounting procedure 410 further includes block 416, whichgenerally involves mounting one or more intake blowers to the cabinfloor via a third vibration damping assembly. For example, block 416 mayinvolve mounting the intake blower(s) 252 to the cabin floor 210 via thevibration damping couplers 259. In certain embodiments, the vibrationdamping couplers 259 may be provided along the lines of theabove-described vibration damping coupler 300. In certain embodiments,an overall stiffness of the third vibration damping assembly may be lessthan the overall stiffnesses of the first and second vibration dampingassemblies 236, 246.

As should be appreciated, the mounting procedure 410 may further includemounting various other components and/or subsystems to the cabin floor210, whether that be with or without vibration damping couplers. As oneexample, the mounting procedure 410 may involve installing thefiltration unit 251 to the cabin floor 210 at a location that will beadjacent the intake port 227 when the cap 220 is subsequently installed.The mounting procedure 410 may additionally or alternatively involvemounting one or more components or subsystems to the cabin cap 220 priorto installing the cap 220. For example, the mounting procedure 410 mayinvolve installing the low-voltage VFD closet 229 and/or the exhaustblower(s) 254 to the cabin cap 220 prior to installing the cabin cap220. It is also contemplated that the low-voltage VFD closet 229 and/orthe exhaust blower(s) 254 may be installed to the cabin 200 subsequentto installing the cabin cap 220.

The process 400 may include the enclosing procedure 420, which generallyinvolves installing a cabin cap to the cabin floor to thereby enclosethe cabin. In the illustrated form, the enclosing procedure 420 includesblock 422, which generally involves lowering a pre-formed cabin cap ontothe cabin floor to thereby enclose the installed components within thecabin. For example, block 422 may involve hoisting the pre-formed cabincap 220 into position on the cabin floor 210 using a crane or similarlifting apparatus.

The enclosing procedure 420 may further include block 424, whichgenerally involves securing the cabin cap 220 to the cabin floor 210. Incertain embodiments, block 424 may involve removably securing the cabincap 220 to the cabin floor 210 (e.g., using bolts, screws, clasps,clamps, and/or another form of releasable fastener) to facilitateremoval of the cap 220 in the event that the components internal to thecabin 200 require removal, maintenance, or replacement. In otherembodiments, block 424 may involve permanently securing the cap 220 tothe floor 210, for example via welding.

In the illustrated form, the enclosing procedure 420 involves lowering apre-formed cabin cap 220 onto the cabin floor 210 to thereby enclose thecabin 200. It is also contemplated that the cabin 200 may be enclosed inanother manner. As one example, the cap 220 may not necessarily bepre-formed, and may instead be built from the cabin floor 210 up.

The process 400 may further include the installation procedure 430,which generally includes installing the cabin and/or additionalcomponents to a mobile trailer. The installation procedure 430 mayinclude block 432, which generally involves installing the cabin to amobile trailer. For example, block 432 may involve installing the cabin200 to a mobile trailer 131 suitable for connection with a semi-truck ortractor. In the illustrated form, block 432 involves directly couplingthe cabin 200 to the mobile trailer 131 without an interveningsuspension being installed between the cabin 200 and the chassis of thetrailer 131. By way of example, block 432 may involve bolting and/orwelding the cabin floor 210 to the chassis of the mobile trailer 131. Itis also contemplated that block 432 may involve indirectly mounting thecabin 200 to the trailer 131, for example via an intervening suspension.However, such intervening suspensions may be obviated in certainembodiments for the reasons noted above.

The installation procedure 430 may further include block 434, whichgenerally involves installing an electric motor to the mobile trailer.For example, block 434 may involve installing a single, single-shaftelectric motor 134 to the mobile trailer 131. In certain embodiments,block 434 may involve mounting the electric motor 134 directly to themobile trailer 131 (i.e., without any intervening suspension and/orvibration isolating components). In other embodiments, block 434 mayinvolve indirectly mounting the electric motor 134 to the trailer 131(e.g., via a suspension and/or vibration damping components). As shouldbe appreciated, block 434 may further involve connecting the motor 134to the medium-voltage VFD 132 such that the VFD 132 is operable tocontrol operation of the motor 134 using power received via themedium-voltage power line 102. Block 434 may further include connectingauxiliary systems of the motor 134 with a power line connected to thejunction panel 260 such that the auxiliary systems of the motor 134 areoperable to receive electrical power from the low-voltage power line102.

The installation procedure 430 may further include block 436, whichgenerally involves installing a single hydraulic pump to the mobiletrailer. For example, block 436 may involve installing the hydraulicpump 136 to the mobile trailer 131. In certain embodiments, block 436may involve mounting the hydraulic pump 136 directly to the mobiletrailer 131 (i.e., without any intervening suspension and/or vibrationisolating components). In other embodiments, block 436 may involveindirectly mounting the hydraulic pump 136 to the trailer 131 (e.g., viaa suspension and/or vibration damping components). As should beappreciated, block 436 may further involve connecting the hydraulic pump136 to the single shaft 135 of the electric motor 134 such that themotor 134 is operable to drive the hydraulic pump 136 under control ofthe medium-voltage VFD 132. Block 436 may further include connectingauxiliary systems of the pump 136 with a power line connected to thejunction panel 260 such that the auxiliary systems of the pump 136 areoperable to receive electrical power from the low-voltage power line102.

While not specifically illustrated in FIG. 15, it should be appreciatedthat the process 400 may include additional or alternative blocks,operations, and/or procedures that may be necessary or desired for themanufacture of a cabin 200 and/or a pump configuration 130 includingsuch a cabin. By way of example, the process 400 may involve installingdedicated temperature sensors 249 and/or dedicated cooling fans 258 tothe power cell assembly 240. As another example, the process 400 mayinvolve forming the cabin cap 220 and/or connecting the ventilationcontrol system 256 to the blowers 252, 254 and/or the cooling fans 258.Those skilled in the art, upon reading the detailed descriptionsregarding the pump configuration 130 and the cabin 200, will readilyrecognize various other steps that may be taken to manufacture a VFDcabin 200 and/or a pump configuration 130 including the same.

With additional reference to FIG. 16, certain embodiments of the presentapplication relate to a process 500 for conducting a fracking operation.Blocks illustrated for the processes in the present application areunderstood to be examples only, and blocks may be combined or divided,and added or removed, as well as re-ordered in whole or in part, unlessexplicitly stated to the contrary. Additionally, while the blocks areillustrated in a relatively serial fashion, it is to be understood thattwo or more of the blocks may be performed concurrently or in parallelwith one another. Moreover, while the process 500 will be described withspecific reference to the fracking operation 100 described above, it isto be appreciated that the process 500 may be performed to conduct afracking operation having additional or alternative features. By way ofillustration, although the process 500 is described as being performedutilizing the above-described pump configuration 130, certain portionsof the process 500 may additionally or alternatively be performed usingthe pump configuration 630 described below with reference to FIGS.17-22.

The illustrated process 500 generally involves a power generationprocedure 510, a power distribution procedure 520, a pumping procedure530, and a fracking procedure 540. As described in further detailherein, the power generation procedure 510 generally involves generatingelectric power at an initial voltage level, the power distributionprocedure 520 generally involves distributing electric power to one ormore pump configurations, the pumping procedure 530 generally involvesusing the distributed electric power to pump a fracking media, and thefracking procedure 540 generally involves using the fracking media toextract fluid from a fracking well 109.

Certain embodiments of the process 500 may involve a power generationprocedure 510, which generally involves generating electric power at aninitial voltage level in the medium-voltage range and an initial powerlevel in the megawatt range. The power generation procedure 510 may, forexample, be performed using the power generation system 110 describedabove. It is also contemplated that the process 500 may not necessarilyinclude the power generation procedure 510, for example in embodimentsin which electric power is supplied to the fracking operation 100 from apower grid (e.g., via direct connection with a substation). Furthermore,while the power generation procedure 510 is described as being performedwith gas turbine engines 112, 114, it is also contemplated that othersources of electric power may be utilized.

The power generation procedure 510 may include block 512, whichgenerally involves generating a first portion of the electric powerusing a first power source, such as a first gas turbine engine. Block512 may, for example, involve operating the first gas turbine engine 112to generate the first portion of the electric power at the initialvoltage level in the medium-voltage range. In certain embodiments, block512 may involve operating the first gas turbine engine 112 to generatepower in a range of about 12 MW or greater. In certain embodiments,block 512 may involve operating the first gas turbine engine 112 togenerate power in a range of about 12 MW to about 16 MW. In certainembodiments, the fuel for operating the first gas turbine engine 112 maybe provided at least in part as fluid extracted from the fracking well109 associated with the fracking operation 100.

The power generation procedure 510 may include block 514, whichgenerally involves generating a second portion of the electric powerusing a second power source, such as a second gas turbine engine. Block514 may, for example, involve operating the second gas turbine engine114 to generate the second portion of the electric power at the initialvoltage level in the medium-voltage range. In certain embodiments, block514 may involve operating the second gas turbine engine 114 to generatepower in a range of about 12 MW or greater. In certain embodiments,block 514 may involve operating the second gas turbine engine 114 togenerate power in a range of about 12 MW to about 16 MW. In certainembodiments, the fuel for operating the second gas turbine engine 114may be provided at least in part as fluid extracted from the frackingwell 109 associated with the fracking operation 100.

The power generation procedure 510 further includes block 516, whichgenerally involves supplying the electric power at the initial voltagelevel to a power distribution system. Block 516 may, for example,involve supplying the electric power at the initial voltage level fromthe power generation system 110 to the power distribution system 120. Incertain embodiments, the power supplied to the power distribution system120 includes the first power generated by the first power source (e.g.,the first gas turbine engine 112) and the second power generated by thesecond power source (e.g., the gas turbine engine 114). In certainembodiments, the power supplied to the power distribution system 120 isabout 24 MW or greater. In certain embodiments, the power supplied tothe power distribution system 120 is in the range of about 24 MW toabout 36 MW. In certain embodiments, the power generation system 110 maygenerate the electric power at an initial voltage level of about 5 kV toabout 15 kV. In certain embodiments, the initial voltage may be providedin the range of 12.5 kV about 10%. In certain embodiments, the initialvoltage may be provided in the range of about 10 kV to about 15 kV. Incertain embodiments, the initial voltage may be provided in the range ofabout 11.8 kV to about 14.5 kV. In certain embodiments, the initialvoltage may be provided as about 13.8 kV or greater. It is alsocontemplated that other voltage levels and/or ranges may be utilized inblock 516.

The power generation procedure 510 may further include one or more stepsor operations not specifically illustrated in FIG. 16. For example, thepower generation procedure 510 may involve providing redundancy in thegeneration of electric power in that the first power source (e.g., thefirst gas turbine engine 112) may continue to supply the first portionof the electric power in the event of a short-circuit conditionexperienced by the second power source (e.g., the second gas turbineengine 114), and in that the second power source (e.g., the second gasturbine engine 114) may continue to supply the second portion of theelectric power in the event of a short-circuit condition experienced bythe first power source (e.g., the first gas turbine engine 112).Additionally, while the illustrated form of the power generationprocedure 510 involves generating the electric power via a pair of gasturbine engines 112, 114 positioned on a single trailer 111, it is alsocontemplated that the power generation procedure 510 may involvegenerating power in another manner (e.g., with more or fewer gas turbineengines and/or additional or alternative power sources for generatingelectric power).

Certain embodiments of the process 500 include a power distributionprocedure 520, which generally involves distributing electric power toone or more pump configurations. The power distribution procedure 520may, for example, be performed by or using the power distribution system120 described above. In certain embodiments, the power distributionprocedure 520 may be performed in conjunction with the power generationprocedure 510 described above. In other embodiments, the powerdistributed in the power distribution procedure 520 may be generated inanother manner. As one example, the power distributed in the powerdistribution procedure 520 may be received from a power grid (e.g. viadirect connection with a substation).

The power distribution procedure 520 may include block 522, whichgenerally involves receiving, at a power distribution system, electricpower at an initial voltage level. Block 522 may, for example, involvereceiving power at the mobile power distribution system 120, such asfrom the power generation system 110 or the electrical grid. In certainembodiments, the power received in block 522 may be power at an initialvoltage level of about 5 kV to about 15 kV. In certain embodiments, thepower received in block 522 may be in the range of 12.5 kV±about 10%. Incertain embodiments, the power received in block 522 may be in the rangeof about 10 kV to about 15 kV. In certain embodiments, the powerreceived in block 522 may be provided in the range of about 11.8 kV toabout 14.5 kV. In certain embodiments, the power received in block 522may be about 13.8 kV or greater. In certain embodiments, the powerreceived in block 522 may be in the 15 kV class. It is also contemplatedthat other voltage levels and/or ranges may be utilized in block 522.

The power distribution procedure 520 may include block 524, whichgenerally involves distributing medium-voltage electric power to one ormore pump configurations. Block 524 may, for example, involvedistributing electric power at the initial voltage level to one or morepump configurations 130 via one or more medium-voltage power lines 101.In certain embodiments, the medium-voltage power distributed in block524 may be power at an initial voltage level of about 5 kV to about 15kV. In certain embodiments, the medium-voltage power distributed inblock 524 may be in the range of 12.5 kV±about 10%. In certainembodiments, the medium-voltage power distributed in block 524 may be inthe range of about 10 kV to about 15 kV. In certain embodiments, themedium-voltage power distributed in block 524 may be in the range ofabout 11.8 kV to about 14.5 kV. In certain embodiments, themedium-voltage power distributed in block 524 may be about 13.8 kV orgreater. It is also contemplated that other voltage levels and/or rangesmay be utilized in block 524. In certain embodiments, block 524 mayinvolve distributing the medium-voltage power via a switchgeararrangement such as that described in the above-referenced U.S.application Ser. No. 16/790,538.

The power distribution procedure 520 may include block 526, whichgenerally involves converting a portion of the received power tolow-voltage electric power. Block 524 may, for example, involveoperating one or more transformers of the power distribution system 120to convert a portion of the power received at the initial voltage levelto power at a low-voltage voltage level. In certain embodiments, block524 may involve converting the portion of the electric power from theinitial medium-voltage voltage level to a low-voltage voltage level lessthan 1.0 kV. In certain embodiments, the low-voltage voltage level maybe about 480V. It is also contemplated that other low-voltage voltagelevels and/or ranges may be utilized in block 526.

The power distribution procedure 520 may include block 528, whichgenerally involves distributing low-voltage electric power to one ormore pump configurations. Block 528 may, for example, involvedistributing electric power at the low-voltage voltage level to theplurality of pump configurations 130 a-130 n via one or more low-voltagepower lines 102. In certain embodiments, block 528 may further involvedistributing low-voltage power to one or more auxiliary systems 190. Incertain embodiments, block 528 may involve distributing the low-voltagepower via a switchgear arrangement such as that described in theabove-referenced U.S. application Ser. No. 16/790,538.

The power distribution procedure 520 may further include one or moreblocks, steps, or operations not specifically illustrated in FIG. 16. Asone example, the power distribution procedure 520 may involvedistributing medium-voltage power to one or more auxiliary systems 190.For example, should the auxiliary system(s) 190 include a blending unitthat blends the fracking media provided to the hydraulic pumps 136, thepower distribution procedure 520 may involve distributing power to theblending unit at a voltage that is suitable for use by the blendingunit, such as power of about 4160V.

As another example, the procedure 520 may involve transmittinginformation to the one or more pump configurations 130 and/or receivinginformation from the one or more pump configurations 130. In certainembodiments, such communication may be performed via a wired connection,such as the communications cable 103. In certain embodiments, suchcommunication may be performed via a wireless connection, such as thosedescribed above. In certain embodiments, the information communicatedbetween the power distribution system 120 and the pump configurations130 may relate to the control of the pump configurations 130. By way ofexample, if information received from one pump configuration 130 aindicates that the pump configuration 130 a is performing sub-optimally(e.g., is pumping the fracking media at a sub-optimal level), the powerdistribution system 120 may cause one or more of the remaining pumpconfigurations 130 b-130 n to operate at a higher HP level to ensurethat the total pumping power provided to the fracking system 140 remainsat a desired overall HP level. In certain embodiments, the powerdistribution system 120 may include a control system that provides forsuch control of the pump configurations 130. In certain embodiments, thepower distribution system 120 may control the pump configurations underthe control of a control system 180, which may be positioned at thefracking site or remote from the fracking site.

Certain embodiments of the process 500 include a pumping procedure 530,which generally involves using electric power to pump a fracking media.The pumping procedure 530 may, for example, be performed by or with oneor more pump configurations 130 along the lines set forth above. Incertain embodiments, the pumping procedure 530 may be performed inconjunction with the power generation procedure 510. Additionally oralternatively, the pumping procedure 530 may be performed using powerthat was generated in a manner other than that described with referenceto the power generation procedure 510. In certain embodiments, thepumping procedure 530 may be performed in conjunction with the powerdistribution procedure 520. Additionally or alternatively, the pumpingprocedure 530 may be performed using power that has been provided to thepump configurations 130 in another manner. In certain embodiments, thepumping procedure 530 may be performed using a single pump configuration130. In other embodiments, the pumping procedure 530 may be performedconcurrently by multiple pump configurations 130 a-130 n.

The pumping procedure 530 may include block 532, which generallyinvolves converting electric power at the initial voltage level toelectric power at a VFD voltage level. Block 532 may, for example, beperformed by or using the medium-voltage VFD 132. In certainembodiments, block 532 involves converting, by the transformer 232, theelectric power at the initial voltage level to electric power at atransformer voltage level, and converting, by the plurality of powercells 242, the electric power at the transformer voltage level toelectric power at the VFD voltage level. In certain embodiments, block532 may involve converting electric power from the initial voltage levelto the VFD voltage level in the manner along the lines of that describedin the above-referenced U.S. application Ser. No. 16/790,581. In certainembodiments, the VFD voltage level may be less than the initial voltagelevel. In certain embodiments, the VFD voltage level may be a voltagelevel between the initial voltage level and the transformer voltagelevel. In certain embodiments, the VFD voltage level may be amedium-voltage voltage level. In certain embodiments, the VFD voltagelevel may be about 2.5 kV or greater. In certain embodiments, the VFDvoltage level may be about 4.16 kV or greater. In certain embodiments,the VFD voltage level may be about 4.16 kV to about 6.6 kV. It is alsocontemplated that other VFD voltage levels and/or ranges may be utilizedin block 532.

The pumping procedure 530 may include block 534, which generallyinvolves generating motive power using the electric power at the VFDvoltage level (e.g., the electric power converted to the VFD voltagelevel in block 532). Block 534 may, for example, be performed by orusing the single-shaft electric motor 134. More particularly, block 534may involve causing the single-shaft electric motor 134 to rotate at anRPM level in response to receiving the electric power at the VFD voltagelevel. In certain embodiments, the RPM level at which the motor 134rotates in response to receiving the electric power at the VFD voltagelevel is about 750 RPM, or about 750 RPM or greater. In certainembodiments, the RPM level at which the motor 134 rotates in response toreceiving the electric power at the VFD voltage level is in a range ofabout 500 RPM to about 1000 RPM. In certain embodiments, the RPM levelat which the motor 134 rotates in response to receiving the electricpower at the VFD voltage level is in a range of about 750 RPM to about1500 RPM. It is also contemplated that other RPM levels and/or rangesmay be utilized in block 534.

The pumping procedure 530 may include block 536, which generallyinvolves pumping fracking media, for example using the motive powergenerated in block 534. Block 536 may, for example, be performed by orusing the hydraulic pump 136. More particularly, block 536 may involvecausing the hydraulic pump 136 to pump the fracking media at a HP levelin response to rotation of the motor 134 at the RPM level. In certainembodiments, the HP level for each hydraulic pump 136 is about 5000 HP,or about 5000 HP or greater. In certain embodiments, the HP level foreach hydraulic pump 136 is in a range of 4000 HP to 6000 HP. In certainembodiments, the HP level for each hydraulic pump 136 is at least 3000HP. It is also contemplated that other HP levels and/or ranges may beutilized in block 536. In certain embodiments, block 536 may involveoperating one or more of the hydraulic pumps 136 on a continuous dutycycle to continuously pump fracking media into the fracking well 109.

The pumping procedure 530 may include block 538, which generallyinvolves operating a ventilation system to cool the medium-voltage VFD132. Block 538 may, for example, be performed by or using theventilation system 250. In certain embodiments, block 538 may involveoperating the ventilation system 250 using power received via thelow-voltage line 102. In certain embodiments, block 538 may involveoperating plural low-voltage VFDs 257 to operate blowers 252, 254 bywhich air is introduced to and discharged from the cabin 200. In certainembodiments, block 538 may involve controlling the speed of the blowers252, 254 based upon a temperature within the cabin 200. In certainembodiments, block 538 may involve operating the intake blower(s) 252 togenerate an intake CFM, and operating the exhaust blower(s) 254 togenerate an exhaust CFM that is lower than the intake CFM such that anoverpressure condition is created within the cabin 200. In certainembodiments, block 538 may involve generating an airstream 209 thatflows from the intake port 227, through the filtration unit 251 undercontrol of the intake blower 252, and across the medium-voltage VFD 132.In certain embodiments, the power cell assembly 240 may be positioned inthe airstream 209 upstream of the transformer assembly 230, and thetransformer assembly 230 may be positioned in the airstream 209downstream of the power cell assembly 240. In certain embodiments, block538 may involve operating dedicated cooling fans 258 to blow air overand/or through the individual power cells 242. In certain embodiments,the speed of the dedicated cooling fans 258 may be controlled based uponthe temperature of the corresponding power cell 242, which temperaturemay be sensed by the dedicated temperature sensors 249.

The pumping procedure 530 may further include one or more steps oroperations not specifically illustrated in FIG. 16. For example,low-voltage auxiliary power may be distributed from the low-voltagepower line 102 in order to power auxiliary systems of the medium-voltageVFD 132, auxiliary systems of the motor 134, auxiliary systems of thehydraulic pump 136, auxiliary systems of the cabin 200, and/or auxiliarysystems of the pump configuration 130.

Certain embodiments of the process 500 include a fracking procedure 540,which generally involves using the fracking media to extract fluid froma fracking well 109. The fracking procedure 540 may, for example, beperformed by or using the fracking system 140 using fracking mediapumped by the one or more pump configurations 130 a-130 n.

The fracking procedure 540 may include block 542, which generallyinvolves pumping a fracking media into a fracking well 109. Block 542may, for example, be performed by or using the fracking equipment 142.In certain embodiments, block 542 may involve continuously pumping thefracking media at an overall HP level corresponding to the sum of the HPlevels provided by the plural single-pump pump configurations 130 a-130n, each of which includes a single hydraulic pump 136 that may operatecontinuously at the HP level for which the pump 136 is rated. In certainembodiments, the overall HP level is about 40,000 HP, or about 40,000 HPor greater. In certain embodiments, the overall HP level is betweenabout 30,000 HP and about 50,000 HP. It is also contemplated that otheroverall HP levels and/or ranges may be utilized in block 542.

The fracking procedure 540 may include block 544, which generallyinvolves extracting a fluid from the fracking well 109. Block 544 may,for example, be performed by or using the fracking equipment 142. Theextracted fluid may then be stored and/or distributed. In certainembodiments, a portion of the extracted fluid may be fed back to thepower generation system 110, for example in embodiments of the processthat involve performing the power generation procedure 510 on-site. Insuch forms, the extracted fluid may be utilized to power one or both ofthe gas turbine engines 112, 114.

It is to be appreciated that the process 500 may include additional oralternative blocks or operations not specifically illustrated in FIG.16. For example, the power distribution procedure 520 may furtherinvolve distributing low-voltage electric power and/or medium-voltageelectric power to one or more auxiliary systems 190, and the process 500may involve operating such auxiliary systems 190. As one example, theauxiliary system 190 may include a hydration system, and the process 500may involve operating the hydration system to provide adequate hydrationto the fracking media as the hydraulic pumps 136 continuously pump thefracking media into the fracking well 109. As further examples, theauxiliary system(s) 190 may include chemical additive systems, blendingsystems, mixing systems and/or any other type of system that is requiredor desired at the fracking site, and the process 500 may involveoperating such auxiliary systems 190 using power generated in the powergeneration procedure 510 and/or distributed in the power distributionprocedure 520. Those skilled in the art, upon reading the detaileddescriptions regarding the fracking operation 100 and the components andsubsystems thereof, will readily recognize various other steps that maybe taken during performance of the process 500.

With additional reference to FIG. 17, illustrated therein is a pumpconfiguration 630 according to certain embodiments. The pumpconfiguration 630 is an alternative embodiment of the pump configuration130, and similar reference characters are used to indicate similarelements and features. For example, the pump configuration 630 generallyincludes a pump trailer 631, a medium-voltage VFD 632, a single,single-shaft electric motor 634, and a single hydraulic pump (notillustrated), which respectively correspond to the above-describedtrailer 131, VFD 132, motor 134, and pump 136, and which need not bedescribed in further detail herein. The pump configuration 630 may, forexample, be utilized in place of the pump configuration 130 in thesystem 100 and/or the process 500, and may, for example, be manufacturedaccording to the process 400. In the interest of conciseness, thefollowing description of the pump configuration 630 focuses primarily onelements and features that differ from those described above withrespect to the pump configuration 130 and/or are shown in greater detailin FIGS. 17-22 than the corresponding features are illustrated in FIGS.3-14.

With additional reference to FIG. 18, as in the pump configuration 130,the medium-voltage VFD 632 is provided within a VFD cabin 700. The VFDcabin 700 is an alternative embodiment of the VFD cabin 200, and similarreference characters are used to indicate similar elements and features.For example, the VFD cabin 700 generally includes a housing 702including a floor 710 and a cap 720, a transformer assembly 730, a powercell assembly 740, a ventilation system 750, and a junction panel 760,which respectively correspond to the above-described housing 202, floor210, cap 220, transformer assembly 230, power cell assembly 240,ventilation system 250, and junction panel 260. The VFD cabin 700 may,for example, be utilized in place of the VFD cabin 200 in the system 100and/or the process 500, and may, for example, be manufactured accordingto the process 400. In the interest of conciseness, the followingdescription of the VFD cabin 700 focuses primarily on elements andfeatures that differ from those described above with respect to the VFDcabin 200 and/or are shown in greater detail in FIGS. 17-22 than thecorresponding features are illustrated in FIGS. 3-14. It should beappreciated that elements and features described in connection with onlyone of the VFD cabins 200, 700 may nonetheless be included in the otherof the VFD cabins 200, 700.

With additional reference to FIG. 19, in the illustrated form, the floor710 is rigidly mounted to the trailer 631 without an interveningsuspension being positioned between the floor 710 and the trailer 631.For example, the floor 710 may be rigidly coupled to the trailer 631 viawelds and/or bolts. In other embodiments, the floor 710 may beindirectly mounted to the trailer 631 via a suspension.

The cap 720 corresponds to the above-described cap 220, and similarreference characters are used to indicate similar elements and features.For example, the cap 720 includes a plurality of sidewalls 721, a roof722, a maintenance door 724, a cover door 726, one or more intake ports727, one or more exhaust ports 728, and a low-voltage VFD closet 729,which respectively correspond to the sidewalls 221, roof 222,maintenance door 224, cover door 226, intake port(s) 227, exhaustport(s) 228, and a low-voltage VFD closet 229. Unlike the VFD cabin 200,in which the intake ports 226 and the exhaust ports 228 are respectivelyprovided on the fore and aft end-walls, the intake port(s) 727 and theexhaust port(s) 728 are provided on the lateral sidewalls 721 of the cap720. More particularly, each lateral sidewall 721 includes an intakeport 727 and an exhaust port 728 such that the intake ports 727 arepositioned opposite one another near one end of the cabin 700 and theexhaust ports 728 are positioned opposite one another near the oppositeend of the cabin 700.

With additional reference to FIG. 20, the transformer assembly 730corresponds to the above-described transformer assembly 230, and similarreference characters are used to indicate similar elements and features.For example, the transformer assembly 730 generally includes atransformer 732, a transformer assembly frame 734, and a vibrationdamping assembly 736 including a plurality of vibration damping couplers737, which respectively correspond to the transformer 232, thetransformer assembly frame 234, and vibration damping assembly 236including vibration damping couplers 237.

In the illustrated form, the frame 734 includes an end wall 735 thatterminates above the floor 710 such that a gap 739 is defined below theend wall 735. This arrangement urges the airstream 709 to flow initiallyinto the bottom of the transformer 732 and upward through thetransformer 732 in a manner similar to that described above withreference to FIG. 11. A wall 792 positioned between the transformerassembly 730 and the power cell assembly 740 may further aid indirecting air to flow in this manner.

With additional reference to FIGS. 21 and 22, the power cell assembly740 corresponds to the above-described power cell assembly 240, andsimilar reference characters are used to indicate similar elements andfeatures. For example, the power cell assembly 740 generally includes aplurality of power cells 742, a power cell assembly frame 744, and avibration damping assembly 746 including a plurality of vibrationdamping couplers 747, which respectively correspond to the plurality ofpower cells 242, the power cell assembly frame 244, and the vibrationdamping assembly 246 including a plurality of vibration damping couplers247.

In the illustrated form, the power cell assembly 740 further includes anauxiliary frame 745, and the primary frame 744 is coupled to theinterior side of one of the sidewalls 721 via the auxiliary frame 745 toprovide lateral support for the power cell assembly 740. The auxiliaryframe 745 may be connected to the primary frame 745 and/or the sidewall721 via vibration damping couplers 747. In the illustrated form,vibration damping couplers 747 are utilized to couple the auxiliaryframe 745 to the primary frame 744. Additionally or alternatively,vibration damping couplers 747 may be utilized to couple the auxiliaryframe 745 to the sidewall 721. As should be appreciated, the vibrationdamping couplers 747 may, for example, be provided in the form of theabove-described vibration damping couplers 300.

The ventilation system 750 corresponds to the above-describedventilation system 250, and similar reference characters are used toindicate similar elements and features. For example, the ventilationsystem 750 generally includes one or more filtration units 751, one ormore intake blowers 752, one or more exhaust blowers 754, a ventilationcontrol system 756, and a plurality of dedicated cooling fans 758, whichrespectively correspond to the above-described filtration unit(s) 251,intake blower(s) 252, exhaust blower(s) 254, ventilation control system256, and dedicated cooling fans 258.

With additional reference to FIG. 23, illustrated therein is a blockdiagram of an electric driven hydraulic fracking system that provides anelectric driven system to execute a fracking operation in that theelectric power is consolidated in a power generation system and thendistributed such that each component in the electric driven hydraulicfracking system is electrically powered. An electric driven hydraulicfracking system 800 includes a power generation system 810, a powerdistribution trailer 820, a plurality of pump trailers 830(a-n), aplurality of single medium-voltage VFDs 840(a-n), a switchgearconfiguration 805, a plurality of trailer auxiliary systems 815(a-n), aplurality of switchgears 825(a-n), a switchgear transformerconfiguration 835, and fracking equipment 870.

Electric power is consolidated in the power generation system 810 andthen distributed at the appropriate voltage levels by the powerdistribution trailer 820 to decrease the medium voltage cabling requiredto distribute the electric power. The single medium-voltage VFDs840(a-n) and the trailer auxiliary systems 815(a-n) positioned on thepump trailers 830(a-n) as well as the fracking control center 880 andauxiliary systems 890 are electrically powered by the electric powerthat is consolidated and generated by the power generation system 810.The electric driven hydraulic fracking system 800 shares many similarfeatures with the hydraulic fracking operation 100. In the interest ofconciseness, the following description focuses primarily on thedifferences between the electric driven hydraulic fracking system 800and the hydraulic fracking operation 100.

As noted above, the power generation system 810 may consolidate theelectric power 850 that is generated for the electric driven hydraulicfracking system 800 such that the quantity and size of the power sourcesincluded in the power generation system 810 is decreased. As discussedabove, the power generating system 810 may include numerous powersources as well as different power sources and any combination thereof.For example, the power generating system 810 may include power sourcesthat include a quantity of gas turbine engines. In another example, thepower generation system 810 may include a power source that includes anelectric power plant that independently generates electric power for anelectric utility grid. In another example, the power generation system810 may include a combination of gas turbine engines and an electricpower plant. The power generation system 810 may generate the electricpower 850 at a power level and a voltage level. The voltage level atwhich the power generation system generates the electric power may bereferred to herein as the initial voltage level and/or the powergeneration voltage level.

The power generation system 810 may generate electric power at a powergeneration voltage level in which the power generation voltage level isthe voltage level that the power generation system is capable ofgenerating the electric power 850. For example, when the power sourcesof the power generation system 810 include a quantity of gas turbineengines, the power generation system 810 may generate the electric power850 at the voltage level of 13.8 kV, which is a typical voltage levelfor electric power 850 generated by gas turbine engines. In anotherexample, when the power sources of the power generation system 810include an electric power plant, the power generation system 810 maygenerate the electric power 850 at the voltage level of 12.47 kV, whichis a typical voltage level for electric power 850 generated by anelectric power plant.

In another example, the power generation system 810 may generateelectric power 850 that is already at the VFD voltage level to power thesingle shaft electric motor as discussed in detail below. In such anexample, the power generation system 810 may generate the electric power850 that is already at a VFD voltage level of 4160V. In another example,the power generation system 810 may generate the electric power 850 atthe power generation voltage level in range of 4160V to 15 kV. Inanother example, the power generation system 810 may generate electricpower 850 at the power generation voltage level of up to 38 kV. Thepower generation system 810 may generate the electric power 850 at anypower generation voltage level that is provided by the power sourcesincluded in the power generation system 810 that will be apparent tothose skilled in the relevant art(s) without departing from the spiritand scope of the disclosure. The power generation system 810 may thenprovide the electric power 850 at the power generation voltage level tothe power distribution trailer 820 via one or more medium voltagecables.

The power distribution trailer 820 may distribute the electric power 850at the power generation voltage level to a plurality of singlemedium-voltage VFDs 840(a-n), where n is an integer equal to or greaterthan two, with each single medium-voltage VFD 840(a-n) positioned on acorresponding single trailer 830(a-n) from a plurality of singletrailers, where n is an integer equal to or greater than two. The powerdistribution trailer 820 may include a switchgear configuration 805 thatincludes a plurality of switchgears 825(a-n), where n is an integerequal to or greater than two, to distribute the electric power 850generated by the at least one power source included in the powerdistribution trailer 810 at the power generation voltage level 860 toeach corresponding single medium-voltage VFD 840(a-n) positioned on eachcorresponding trailer 830(a-n).

Since the electric power 850 is consolidated to the power generationsystem 810, the switch gear configuration 805 may distribute theelectric power 850 at the power generation voltage level to each of thesingle medium-voltage VFDs 840(a-n) as electric power 860 at the powergeneration voltage level such that each of the single medium-voltageVFDs 840(a-n) may then drive the single shaft electric motors and thesingle hydraulic pumps as discussed in detail below. For example, whenthe power distribution system 810 has power sources that include gasturbine engines, the switch gear configuration 805 of the powerdistribution trailer 820 may distribute the electric power 850 at thepower generation voltage level of 13.8 kV to each of the singlemedium-voltage VFDs 840(a-n) as electric power 860 at the powergeneration voltage level of 13.8 kV. In another example, when the powerdistribution 810 has power sources that include an electric power plant,the switch gear configuration 805 of the power distribution trailer 820may distribute the electric power 850 at the power generation level of12.47 kV to each of the single medium-voltage VFDs 840(a-n) as electricpower 860 at the power generation level of 12.47 kV.

In order for the electric power to be consolidated to the powergeneration system 810 as well as to provide an electric driven system inwhich each of the components of the electric driven hydraulic frackingsystem 800 is driven by the electric power generated by the powergeneration system 810, the power distribution trailer 820 provides theflexibility to distribute the electric power 850 generated by the powergeneration system 810 at different voltage levels. In adjusting thevoltage levels that the electric power 850 generated by the powergeneration system 810 is distributed, the power distribution trailer 820may then distribute the appropriate voltage levels to several differentcomponents included in the electric driven hydraulic fracking system 800to accommodate the electric power requirements of the several differentcomponents included in the electric driven hydraulic fracking system800. For example, the power distribution trailer 820 may distribute theelectric power 860 generated by the power generation system 810 at thevoltage level of 13.8 kV as generated by the power generation system 810via the switch gears 825(a-n) to each of the single medium-voltage VFDs840(a-n) for the each of the single medium-voltage VFDs 840(a-n) todrive the single shaft electric motors and the single hydraulic pumps.In another example, the power distribution trailer 820 may distributethe electric power 860 generated by the power generation system 810 atthe voltage level of 12.47 kV as generated by the power generationsystem 810 via the switch gears 825(a-n) to each of the singlemedium-voltage VFDs 840(a-n) for each of the single medium-voltage VFDs840(a-n) to drive the single shaft electric motors and the singlehydraulic pumps.

However, the electric power distribution trailer 820 may also distributethe electric power 850 generated by the power generation system 810 at adecreased voltage level from the voltage level of the electric power 850originally generated by the power generation system 810 (i.e., theinitial or power generation voltage level). Several different componentsof the electric driven hydraulic fracking system 800 may have powerrequirements that require electric power at a significantly lowervoltage level than the electric power 850 originally generated by thepower generation system 810. The power distribution trailer 820 mayinclude a switchgear transformer configuration 835 that may step downthe voltage level of the electric power 850 as originally generated bythe power distribution trailer 810 to a lower voltage level thatsatisfies the power requirements of those components that may not beable to handle the increased voltage level of the electric power 850originally generated by the power distribution trailer 810. In doing so,the electric power distribution trailer 820 may provide the necessaryflexibility to continue to consolidate the electric power 850 to thepower generation system 810 while still enabling each of the severalcomponents to be powered by the electric power generated by the powergeneration system 810.

For example, the switchgear transformer configuration 835 may convertthe electric power 850 generated by the at least one power source of thepower generation system 810 at the power generation voltage level to atan auxiliary voltage level that is less than the power generationvoltage level. The switchgear transformer configuration 835 may thendistribute the electric power 855 at the auxiliary voltage level to eachsingle medium-voltage VFD 840(a-n) on each corresponding single trailer830(a-n) to enable each single medium-voltage VFD 840(a-n) from theplurality of single medium-voltage VFDs 840(a-n) to communicate with thefracking control center 880. The switchgear transformer configuration835 may also distribute the electric power 855 at the auxiliary voltagelevel to a plurality of auxiliary systems 890. The plurality ofauxiliary systems 890 assists each single hydraulic pump as eachhydraulic pump from the plurality of single hydraulic pumps operate toprepare the well for the later extraction of the fluid from the well.

In such an example, the switchgear transformer configuration 835 mayconvert the electric power 850 generated by the power generation system810 with power sources include gas turbine engines at the powergeneration voltage level of 13.8 kV to an auxiliary voltage level of480V, which is less than the power generation voltage level of 13.8 kV.The switchgear transformer configuration 835 may then distribute theelectric power 855 at the auxiliary voltage level of 480V to each singlemedium-voltage VFD 840(a-n) on each corresponding single trailer830(a-n) to enable each single medium-voltage VFD 840(a-n) from theplurality of single medium-voltage VFDs 840(a-n) to communicate with thefracking control center 880. The switchgear transformer configuration835 may also distribute the electric power 855 at the auxiliary voltagelevel of 480V to a plurality of auxiliary systems 890.

In another example, the switchgear transformer configuration 835 mayconvert the electric power 850 generated by the power generation system810 with power sources that include an electric power plant at the powergeneration voltage level of 12.47 kV to an auxiliary voltage level of480V, which is less than the power generation voltage level of 12.47 kV.In another example, the switchgear transformer configuration 835 mayconvert the electric power 850 at the power generation voltage levelgenerated by the power generation system 810 to the auxiliary voltagelevel of 480V, 120V, 24V and/or any other auxiliary voltage level thatis less than the power generation voltage level. The switchgeartransformer configuration 835 may convert the electric power 850 at thepower generation voltage level generated by the power generation system810 to any auxiliary voltage level that is less than the powergeneration voltage level to assist each single medium-voltage VFD840(a-n) in executing operations that do not require the electric power860 at the power generation voltage level that will be apparent to thoseskilled in the relevant art(s) without departing from the spirit andscope of the disclosure.

Certain embodiments of the present application relate to a variablefrequency drive (VFD) cabin, comprising: a cabin housing, the cabinhousing comprising: a cabin floor; and a cabin cap secured to the cabinfloor, thereby at least partially enclosing a cabin interior of thecabin housing; a medium-voltage VFD positioned within the interior ofthe cabin housing, the medium-voltage VFD comprising: a transformerassembly comprising: a transformer assembly frame; a transformer mountedto the transformer assembly frame; and a first vibration dampingassembly mounted between the transformer assembly frame and the cabinfloor; and a power cell assembly comprising: a power cell assemblyframe; a plurality of power cells mounted to the power cell assemblyframe; and a second vibration damping assembly mounted between the powercell assembly frame and the cabin floor.

In certain embodiments, the power cell assembly further comprises aplurality of slide rails connected with the power cell assembly frame,and wherein each of the power cells is mounted to the power cellassembly frame via a corresponding one of the slide rails.

In certain embodiments, the VFD cabin further comprises a ventilationsystem, the ventilation system comprising: a filter positioned at anintake port of the cabin housing; at least one intake blower configuredto draw air into the cabin interior via the filter; and at least oneexhaust blower configured to expel air from the cabin interior via anexhaust port of the cabin housing.

In certain embodiments, the ventilation system is configured to generatean airstream that flows from the intake port to the exhaust port;wherein the power cell assembly is positioned within the airstreamupstream of the transformer assembly; and wherein the transformerassembly is positioned within the airstream downstream of the power cellassembly.

In certain embodiments, the at least one intake blower is configured todraw air into the cabin interior at a first flow rate; wherein the atleast one exhaust blower is configured to expel air from the cabininterior at a second flow rate; and wherein the first flow rate isgreater than the second flow rate such that the ventilation system isconfigured to generate an overpressure condition within the cabininterior.

In certain embodiments, the overpressure condition is one in which aninterior pressure within the cabin exceeds an exterior pressure outsidethe cabin.

In certain embodiments, the VFD cabin further comprises at least onelow-voltage VFD connected with the at least one intake blower and the atleast one exhaust blower, wherein the at least one low-voltage VFD isconfigured to control operation of the at least one intake blower andthe at least one exhaust blower.

In certain embodiments, the at least one low-voltage VFD comprises aplurality of low-voltage VFDs, and wherein each low-voltage VFD isdedicated to a corresponding one of the at least one intake blower or toa corresponding one of the at least one exhaust blower.

In certain embodiments, the ventilation system further comprises aplurality of cooling fans; and wherein each cooling fan is dedicated toa corresponding power cell of the plurality of power cells and isconfigured to blow air across the corresponding power cell.

In certain embodiments, the VFD cabin further comprises a plurality oftemperature sensors; wherein each temperature sensor is configured tosense a temperature of a corresponding power cell of the plurality ofpower cells; and wherein the ventilation system is configured to controloperation of the plurality of cooling fans based upon informationgenerated by the plurality of temperature sensors.

In certain embodiments, the first vibration damping assembly has a firstoverall stiffness; and wherein the second vibration damping assembly hasa second overall stiffness less than the first overall stiffness.

In certain embodiments, each of the first vibration damping assembly andthe second vibration damping assembly comprises a plurality of vibrationdamping couplers; and wherein each vibration damping coupler comprises avibration damper and a bolt extending through the vibration damper.

In certain embodiments, each vibration damper comprises at least one ofan elastic material, a rubber material, an elastomeric material, or aspring.

In certain embodiments, the cabin cap is releasably secured to the cabinfloor such that the cabin cap is operable to be removed from the cabinfloor as a unit.

Certain embodiments relate to a pump configuration comprising the VFDcabin, the pump configuration further comprising: a mobile trailer,wherein the VFD cabin is mounted to the mobile trailer; an electricmotor mounted to the mobile trailer, wherein the electric motor isconnected with the medium-voltage VFD such that the medium-voltage VFDis operable to control operation of the electric motor; and a hydraulicpump mounted to the mobile trailer, wherein the hydraulic pump isconnected with the electric motor such that the hydraulic pump isoperable to pump a fracking media when operated by the electric motor.

In certain embodiments, wherein the VFD cabin is mounted to the mobiletrailer without a suspension being connected between the VFD cabin andthe mobile trailer.

Certain embodiments of the present application relate to a variablefrequency drive (VFD) cabin, comprising: a cabin housing, the cabinhousing comprising an air intake port and an air exhaust port; atransformer mounted in an interior of the cabin housing, wherein thetransformer is configured to transform electric power at an initialvoltage to electric power at a transformer voltage, wherein the initialvoltage is within a medium-voltage voltage range, and wherein thetransformer voltage is within a low-voltage voltage range; a power cellassembly mounted in the interior of the cabin housing and connected withthe transformer, wherein the power cell assembly comprises a pluralityof power cells and is configured to convert electric power at thetransformer voltage to electric power at a VFD voltage, wherein the VFDvoltage is within a third medium-voltage voltage range; and aventilation system, comprising: a filtration unit positioned at the airintake port; at least one intake blower configured to draw air into thecabin housing via the air intake port and the filtration unit at anintake flowrate; at least one exhaust blower configured to expel airfrom the cabin housing via the exhaust port at an exhaust flowrate; anda ventilation control system configured to control operation of the atleast one intake blower and the at least one exhaust blower such thatthe intake flowrate exceeds the exhaust flowrate to thereby create anoverpressure condition within the cabin housing.

In certain embodiments, the ventilation control system comprises atleast one low-voltage VFD configured to control the at least one intakeblower and the at least one exhaust blower such that the intake flowrate and the exhaust flowrate are variable.

In certain embodiments, the ventilation control system comprises aplurality of low-voltage VFDs, the plurality of low-voltage VFDscomprising: at least one first low-voltage VFD, wherein each firstlow-voltage VFD is dedicated to a corresponding one of the at least oneintake blower; and at least one second low-voltage VFD, wherein eachsecond low-voltage VFD is dedicated to a corresponding one of the atleast one exhaust blower.

In certain embodiments, the ventilation system is configured to generatean airflow stream traveling from the intake port to the exhaust port;wherein the power cell assembly is positioned in the airflow streamupstream of the transformer; and wherein the transformer is positionedin the airflow stream downstream of the power cell assembly.

In certain embodiments, the ventilation system further comprises aplurality of cooling fans, wherein each cooling fan is configured toblow air across a corresponding one of the power cells.

In certain embodiments, the VFD cabin further comprises a plurality oftemperature sensors, wherein each temperature sensor is configured tosense a temperature of a corresponding one of the power cells; andwherein each cooling fan is configured to vary a flow rate across thecorresponding one of the power cells based upon the temperature of thecorresponding one of the power cells as sensed by a corresponding one ofthe temperature sensors.

In certain embodiments, the cabin housing further comprises a closetthat is accessible from an exterior of the cabin and is isolated fromthe interior of the cabin, wherein at least a portion of the ventilationcontrol system is mounted within the closet.

In certain embodiments, the cabin housing lacks an entry door by whichthe interior of the cabin can be accessed.

In certain embodiments, the transformer is mounted to a floor of thecabin via a plurality of vibration damping couplers.

In certain embodiments, the power cell assembly is mounted to a floor ofthe cabin via a plurality of vibration damping couplers.

Certain embodiments of the present application relate to a method ofmanufacturing a cabin comprising a variable frequency drive (VFD)including a transformer and a plurality of power cells, the methodcomprising: mounting a transformer assembly to a cabin floor, whereinthe transformer assembly comprises the transformer, a transformer frameto which the transformer is mounted, and a first vibration dampingassembly, wherein mounting the transformer assembly to the cabin floorcomprises securing the transformer frame to the cabin floor via thefirst vibration damping assembly; mounting a power cell assembly to thecabin floor, wherein the power cell assembly comprises the plurality ofpower cells, a power cell frame to which the plurality of power cellsare mounted, and a second vibration damping assembly, wherein mountingthe power cell assembly to the cabin floor comprises securing the powercell frame to the cabin floor via the second vibration damping assembly.

In certain embodiments, the method further comprises enclosing thecabin, thereby forming a cabin housing within which the transformerassembly and the power cell assembly are positioned.

In certain embodiments, enclosing the cabin comprises: lowering apreformed cabin cap onto the cabin floor; and securing the preformedcabin cap to the cabin floor such that the cabin housing is defined atleast in part by the preformed cabin cap and the cabin floor.

In certain embodiments, the cabin cap comprises a plurality of sidewallsand a roof connected with the plurality of sidewalls.

In certain embodiments, the method further comprises: operating an inputblower to draw air into the cabin housing through a filter via an inputport formed in the cabin housing at a first flow rate; and operating anexhaust blower to expel air from the cabin housing via an exhaust portformed in the cabin housing at a second flow rate; wherein the firstflow rate is greater than the second flow rate such that an overpressurecondition is provided within the cabin housing.

In certain embodiments, the method further comprises securing the cabinfloor to a mobile trailer.

In certain embodiments, securing the cabin floor to the mobile trailercomprises bolting and/or welding the cabin floor to the mobile trailer.

Certain embodiments of the present application relate to a method,comprising: receiving, by at least one pump configuration, electricpower at an initial voltage level, wherein the initial voltage level isin a first medium-voltage voltage range, wherein each pump configurationcomprises: a corresponding and respective mobile trailer; acorresponding and respective medium-voltage variable frequency drive(VFD) mounted to the mobile trailer; a corresponding and respectivesingle, single-shaft electric motor mounted to the mobile trailer andoperably connected with the medium-voltage VFD; and a corresponding andrespective single hydraulic pump mounted to the mobile trailer andoperably connected with the single shaft of the single, single-shaftelectric motor; converting, by the medium-voltage VFD of each pumpconfiguration, the electric power at the initial voltage level toelectric power at a VFD voltage level, wherein the VFD voltage level isin a second medium-voltage voltage range; converting, by the single,single-shaft electric motor of each pump configuration, the electricpower at the VFD voltage level to motive power by rotating the singleshaft of the single, single-shaft electric motor at a revolutions perminute (RPM) speed; and transmitting rotation of the single shaft of thesingle, single-shaft electric motor of each pump configuration to thehydraulic pump of the pump configuration, thereby causing the singlehydraulic pump of each pump configuration to continuously pump afracking media at a horsepower (HP) level.

In certain embodiments, the VFD voltage is less than the initialvoltage.

In certain embodiments, the first medium-voltage voltage range is about11.8 kV to about 14.5 kV.

In certain embodiments, the second medium-voltage voltage range is about4160V or greater.

In certain embodiments, the RPM speed is about 750 RPM or greater.

In certain embodiments, the HP level is about 5000 HP or greater.

In certain embodiments, the at least one pump configuration comprises aplurality of the pump configurations; and the method further comprises:supplying the fracking media pumped by the hydraulic pumps of theplurality of pump configurations to fracking equipment; and operatingthe fracking equipment to charge the fracking media into a frackingwell.

In certain embodiments, the method further comprises: receiving, at amobile power distribution system, electric power at an initial megawatt(MW) level and the initial voltage level; and distributing, by themobile power distribution system, electric power at the initial voltagelevel to the plurality of pump configurations.

In certain embodiments, the mobile power distribution system is mountedto a single power distribution trailer.

In certain embodiments, the electric power at the initial MW level andthe initial voltage level is received from a power grid.

In certain embodiments, each pump configuration further comprises acorresponding and respective ventilation system, and the method furthercomprises: converting, by the mobile power distribution system, aportion of the electric power at the initial voltage level to electricpower at a low-voltage voltage level; distributing, by the mobile powerdistribution system, the electric power at the low-voltage level to theplurality of pump configurations; and operating each ventilation systemusing the electric power at the low-voltage voltage to cool themedium-voltage VFD of the corresponding pump configuration.

In certain embodiments, the method further comprises: supplying, by themobile power distribution system, electric power to at least oneauxiliary system; and operating the at least one auxiliary system usingthe power supplied by the mobile power distribution system.

In certain embodiments, the method further comprises: generating, by amobile power generation system, the electric power at the initial MWlevel and the initial voltage level; and supplying the electric power atthe initial MW level and the initial voltage level to the powerdistribution trailer.

In certain embodiments, the mobile power generation system is mounted toa single power generation trailer.

In certain embodiments, the generating comprises: operating a first gasturbine engine of the mobile power generation system to provide a firstportion of the electric power to be supplied to the mobile powerdistribution system; and operating a second gas turbine engine of themobile power generation system to provide a second portion of theelectric power to be supplied to the mobile power distribution system.

In certain embodiments, the method further comprises providing a faultredundancy, wherein providing the fault redundancy comprises: continuingto provide, by the first gas turbine engine, the first portion of theelectric power when the second gas turbine engine suffers a faultcondition; and continuing to provide, by the second gas turbine engine,the second portion of the electric power when the first gas turbineengine suffers the fault condition.

Certain embodiments of the present application relate to a pumpconfiguration for a fracking operation, the pump configurationcomprising: a mobile trailer; a medium-voltage variable frequency drive(VFD) mounted to the trailer, wherein the medium-voltage VFD isconfigured to convert electric power at an initial voltage level toelectric power at a VFD, wherein the initial voltage level is about 2.8kilovolts (kV) or greater; a single, single-shaft electric motor mountedto the mobile trailer and connected with the medium-voltage VFD, whereinthe single, single-shaft electric motor is configured to operate inresponse to receiving the electric power at the VFD voltage; and asingle hydraulic pump mounted to the mobile trailer and connected withthe single, single-shaft electric motor, wherein the single hydraulicpump is configured to continuously pump fracking media at a horsepower(HP) level of about 5000 HP or greater in response to operation of thesingle, single-shaft electric motor.

In certain embodiments, the single, single-shaft electric motor isconfigured to operate at a revolutions per minute (RPM) level of about750 RPM or greater in response to receiving the electric power at theVFD voltage.

In certain embodiments, the single hydraulic pump is configured tooperate on a continuous duty cycle to continuously pump the frackingmedia at the HP level of about 5000 HP or greater.

In certain embodiments, the VFD voltage is about 4.16 kV or greater.

In certain embodiments, the initial voltage is in a range of about 10 kVto about 16 kV.

In certain embodiments, the pump configuration lacks a second hydraulicpump configured to continuously pump fracking media into the frackingwell at the HP level of about 5000 HP or greater.

In certain embodiments, the pump configuration lacks a secondsingle-shaft electric motor configured to operate at the VFD voltage.

In certain embodiments, the pump configuration lacks a secondmedium-voltage VFD.

In certain embodiments, the pump configuration further comprises aventilation system comprising: at least one blower configured to blowair across the medium-voltage VFD in response to receiving low-voltageelectric power; and at least one low-voltage VFD configured to supplythe low-voltage electric power to the at least one blower.

In certain embodiments, the pump configuration further comprises a VFDcabin in which the medium-voltage VFD is positioned; and wherein thecabin further comprises a junction box comprising: a singlemedium-voltage connector configured for connection with a medium-voltageelectric line, wherein the single medium-voltage connector is operableto supply electric power from the medium-voltage electric line to themedium-voltage VFD; and a single low-voltage connector configured forconnection with a low-voltage electric line, wherein the singlelow-voltage connector is operable to supply electric power from thelow-voltage electric line to the low-voltage VFD.

In certain embodiments, the junction box further comprises acommunication line connector configured for connection with acommunication line; and wherein the medium-voltage VFD is configured tooperate based upon information received via the communication line.

Certain embodiments of the present application relate to a systemcomprising a plurality of the pump configuration, the system furthercomprising a mobile power distribution system connected with theplurality of pump configurations; wherein the mobile power distributionsystem is configured to receive electric power at a power level of about24 megawatts (MW) or greater, and to distribute the electric power tothe plurality of pump configurations at the initial voltage level.

In certain embodiments, the mobile power distribution system isconfigured for connection with a power grid operable to supply electricpower to the mobile power distribution system.

In certain embodiments, the mobile power distribution system is mountedto a single mobile power distribution trailer.

In certain embodiments, the mobile power distribution system is furtherconfigured to convert a portion of the electric power to a low-voltagevoltage level, and to distribute electric power at the low-voltage levelto each of the pump configurations; and wherein each of the pumpconfigurations comprises a ventilation system configured to operateusing the electric power at the low-voltage voltage level.

In certain embodiments, the system further comprises a mobile powergeneration system connected with the mobile power distribution system;wherein the power generation system is configured to generate theelectric power at the power level of about 24 MW or greater and at theinitial voltage level.

In certain embodiments, the power generation system comprises: a firstgas turbine engine configured to generate a first electric power betweenabout 12 MW and about 16 MW; and a second gas turbine engine configuredto generate a second electric power between about 12 MW and about 16 MW;wherein the electric power level of about 24 MW or greater at theinitial voltage level comprises the first electric power and the secondelectric power.

In certain embodiments, the mobile power generation system furthercomprises a mobile power generation trailer; and wherein the first gasturbine engine and the second gas turbine engine are mounted to thesecond mobile trailer.

It is to be appreciated that the Detailed Description section, and notthe Abstract section, is intended to be used to interpret the claims.The Abstract section may set forth one or more, but not all exemplaryembodiments, of the present disclosure, and thus, is not intended tolimit the present disclosure and the appended claims in any way.

The present disclosure has been described above with the aid offunctional building blocks illustrating the implementation of specifiedfunctions and relationships thereof. The boundaries of these functionalbuilding blocks have been arbitrarily defined herein for the convenienceof the description. Alternate boundaries may be defined so long as thespecified functions and relationships thereof are appropriatelyperformed.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art(s) the variouschanges in form and detail can be made without departing from the spirtand scope of the present disclosure. Thus the present disclosure shouldnot be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, butshould be defined only in accordance with the following claims and theirequivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A pump configuration for a fracking operation,the pump configuration comprising: a cabin having a cabin floor and acabin cap coupled thereto to at least partially enclose a cabin interiorof the cabin; a medium-voltage variable frequency drive (VFD) positionedwithin the cabin interior of the cabin to receive electric power at aninitial voltage level and convert the electric power from the initialvoltage level to electric power at a VFD voltage level, wherein themedium-voltage VFD includes a power cell assembly and a transformerassembly; an electric motor coupled to the medium-voltage VFD to receivethe electric power at the VFD voltage level from the medium-voltage VFDand operate based on the electric power at the VFD voltage level; and ahydraulic pump coupled to the electric motor to continuously pumpfracking media in response to operation of the electric motor, whereinthe power cell assembly is arranged upstream of the transformer assemblyrelative to an intake port formed in the cabin such that air drawn intothe cabin interior through the intake port in use of the pumpconfiguration passes over the power cell assembly to cool the power cellassembly before being routed to the transformer assembly.
 2. The pumpconfiguration of claim 1, wherein: the cabin includes an internal wallarranged between the power cell assembly and the transformer assemblythat is spaced from the cabin floor in a vertical direction to defineone or more openings between the internal wall and the cabin floor; andin use of the pump configuration, the internal wall directs air passedover the power cell assembly downward through the one or more openingssuch that air passed through the one or more openings flows over thetransformer assembly proximate the cabin floor.
 3. The pumpconfiguration of claim 1, further comprising a ventilation systemincluding a filtration unit positioned at the intake port, at least oneintake blower to draw air into the cabin interior via the intake port,at least one exhaust blower to expel air from the cabin interior via anexhaust port, and a ventilation control system to control operation ofthe at least one intake blower and the at least one exhaust blower suchthat the intake flowrate exceeds the exhaust flowrate.
 4. The pumpconfiguration of claim 3, wherein: the ventilation system includes aplurality of cooling fans to conduct air drawn into the cabin interiorover the power cell assembly; and wherein the ventilation control systemis configured to control operation of the at least one intake blower,the at least one exhaust blower, and the cooling fans such that theintake flowrate exceeds the exhaust flowrate.
 5. The pump configurationof claim 4, wherein: the power cell assembly includes a plurality ofpower cells; and each of the plurality of power cells includes adedicated temperature sensor and a dedicated cooling fan.
 6. The pumpconfiguration of claim 4, wherein: the plurality of cooling fans arearranged at least partially upstream of the power cell assembly relativeto the intake port; the at least one intake blower is arranged upstreamof the plurality of cooling fans relative to the intake port; and thefiltration unit is arranged at least partially upstream of the at leastone intake blower relative to the intake port.
 7. The pump configurationof claim 6, wherein the at least one exhaust blower is arranged at leastpartially downstream of the transformer assembly relative to the intakeport.
 8. The pump configuration of claim 1, wherein: the VFD voltagelevel is in a range of about 2 kilovolts (kV) to about 8 kV; and thehydraulic pump is configured to continuously pump fracking media at ahigh horsepower (HHP) level of at least about 5000 HHP.
 9. The pumpconfiguration of claim 8, wherein: the VFD voltage level is about 4.16kV or greater; and the initial voltage level is in a range of about 10kV to about 16 kV.
 10. The pump configuration of claim 1, wherein: thepower cell assembly includes a plurality of semiconductor devices and aplurality of racks mounted to a power cell assembly frame of the powercell assembly; the transformer assembly is a multi-phase transformerassembly; the electric motor is a single-shaft electric motor; and thehydraulic pump is coupled to the electric motor to continuously pumpfracking media in response to one or more operational conditions thatare based on variables input to the electric motor to cause the frackingmedia to be pumped by the hydraulic pump within parameters of theelectric motor in use of the pump configuration.
 11. A pumpconfiguration for a fracking operation, the pump configurationcomprising: a cabin having a cabin floor and a cabin cap coupled theretoto at least partially enclose a cabin interior of the cabin; amedium-voltage variable frequency drive (VFD) positioned within thecabin interior of the cabin to receive electric power at an initialvoltage level and convert the electric power from the initial voltagelevel to electric power at a VFD voltage level, wherein themedium-voltage VFD includes a power cell assembly and a transformerassembly; an electric motor coupled to the medium-voltage VFD to receivethe electric power at the VFD voltage level from the medium-voltage VFDand operate based on the electric power at the VFD voltage level; ahydraulic pump coupled to the electric motor to continuously pumpfracking media in response to operation of the electric motor; and aventilation system including a ventilation control system to establishan over-pressurization condition within the cabin interior such that airdrawn into the cabin interior at a first rate through an intake portformed in the cabin is greater than air expelled from the cabin interiorat a second rate through an exhaust port formed in the cabin, whereinthe power cell assembly is arranged upstream of the transformer assemblyrelative to the intake port such that air drawn into the cabin interiorthrough the intake port passes over the power cell assembly to cool thepower cell assembly before being routed to the transformer assemblyduring establishment of the over-pressurization condition.
 12. The pumpconfiguration of claim 11, wherein: the cabin includes an internal wallarranged between the power cell assembly and the transformer assemblythat is spaced from the cabin floor in a vertical direction to defineone or more openings between the internal wall and the cabin floor; andin use of the pump configuration, the internal wall directs air passedover the power cell assembly downward through the one or more openingssuch that air passed through the one or more openings flows over thetransformer assembly proximate the cabin floor during establishment ofthe over-pressurization condition.
 13. The pump configuration of claim11, wherein the ventilation system comprises a filtration unitpositioned at the intake port, at least one intake blower to draw airinto the cabin interior via the intake port, and at least one exhaustblower to expel air from the cabin interior via the exhaust port. 14.The pump configuration of claim 13, wherein: the ventilation systemincludes a plurality of cooling fans to conduct air drawn into the cabininterior over the power cell assembly; and wherein the ventilationcontrol system is configured to control operation of the at least oneintake blower, the at least one exhaust blower, and the cooling fanssuch that the first rate exceeds the second rate during establishment ofthe over-pressurization condition.
 15. The pump configuration of claim14, wherein: the plurality of cooling fans are arranged at leastpartially upstream of the power cell assembly relative to the intakeport; the at least one intake blower is arranged upstream of theplurality of cooling fans relative to the intake port; and thefiltration unit is arranged at least partially upstream of the at leastone intake blower relative to the intake port.
 16. The pumpconfiguration of claim 15, wherein the at least one exhaust blower isarranged at least partially downstream of the transformer assemblyrelative to the intake port.
 17. A system for a fracking operation, thesystem comprising: a power generation system to generate electric powerat a power generation level; a power distribution system coupled to thepower generation system to receive electric power from the powergeneration system at the power generation level and distribute theelectric power at an initial voltage level; and a pump configurationcoupled to the power distribution system, the pump configurationcomprising: a cabin having a cabin floor and a cabin cap coupled theretoto at least partially enclose a cabin interior of the cabin; amedium-voltage variable frequency drive (VFD) positioned within thecabin interior of the cabin to receive electric power from the powerdistribution system at the initial voltage level and convert theelectric power from the initial voltage level to electric power at a VFDvoltage level, wherein the medium-voltage VFD includes a power cellassembly and a transformer assembly; an electric motor coupled to themedium-voltage VFD to receive the electric power at the VFD voltagelevel from the medium-voltage VFD and operate based on the electricpower at the VFD voltage level; and a hydraulic pump coupled to theelectric motor to continuously pump fracking media in response tooperation of the electric motor, wherein the power cell assembly isarranged upstream of the transformer assembly relative to an intake portformed in the cabin such that air drawn into the cabin interior throughthe intake port in use of the system passes over the power cell assemblyto cool the power cell assembly before being routed to the transformerassembly.
 18. The system of claim 17, wherein: the cabin includes aninternal wall arranged between the power cell assembly and thetransformer assembly that is spaced from the cabin floor in a verticaldirection to define one or more openings between the internal wall andthe cabin floor; and in use of the system, the internal wall directs airpassed over the power cell assembly downward through the one or moreopenings such that air passed through the one or more openings flowsover the transformer assembly proximate the cabin floor.
 19. The systemof claim 17, further comprising a ventilation system including aventilation control system to establish an over-pressurization conditionwithin the cabin interior such that air drawn into the cabin interior ata first rate through the intake port formed in the cabin is greater thanair expelled from the cabin interior at a second rate through an exhaustport formed in the cabin.
 20. The system of claim 19, wherein theventilation system comprises a filtration unit positioned at the intakeport, at least one intake blower to draw air into the cabin interior viathe intake port, and at least one exhaust blower to expel air from thecabin interior via the exhaust port.